Aikido Yoshinkan (養神館, Yōshinkan, lit. House for Cultivating the Spirit) is a style of aikido founded by Gozo Shioda (1915-1994) after World War II.
Yoshinkan Aikido is occasionally called a "hard style" because the training methods are a product of the grueling period that Shioda spent as a student of Morihei Ueshiba. It is also generally closer to aikijujutsu than so-called "soft styles" of aikido, and has sharper, more angular movements. The unusual emphasis placed on correct form rather than correct flow and timing further contributes to its image as a "hard style." However, the merit of such terms as "hard" and "soft" is generally believed to lie on the superficial level of describing a style's "feel", rather than saying anything about the heart of the style itself.
Kancho (lit. "founder" in Japanese) Gozo Shioda formed the Yoshinkan style of aikido because he felt that there needed to be structure in the training process for students. So he created a structured method in which beginning students would learn the foundation techniques and separated them by calling them number 1 and number 2 techniques. Number 1 techniques have a feeling of the energy moving away from you or your partner pulling. Number 2 techniques have a feeling of the energy coming towards you or your partner pushing. The feeling for a number 1 technique is that you go with the pull and for number 2 you pivot away from the push. This is very simplified but it is the general idea.
Yoshinkan Aikido has some 150 "kihon waza" (lit. "basic techniques" in Japanese) which are practiced repeatedly: these enabling the student to master the remaining ones, which total some 3000 overall. The syllabus contains no weapons forms, although they are practiced as an adjunct to the open hand techniques. Like many styles of aikido, Yoshinkan eschews competition; instead, it emphasizes self defense applications. Yoshinkan aikido is one of the martial arts that has been taught to the Tokyo police.
Distinctively, Yoshinkan places heavy emphasis on basic movements, which are practiced in the form of solo movements or kata. Other technical peculiarities are the position of feet and hips. Most aikido practitioners place their body in a position called kamae (lit. pose in Japanese) with the front foot pointing straight forward, the back foot at 90 degree angle to the front foot. The Yoshinkan stance has square hips and shoulders with the front foot angled slightly out.
It is understood that "kamae" is the foundation of all Yoshinkan aikido techniques and practitioners of Yoshinkan aikido strive to perfect their "kamae" so that their overall technique will be strengthened. Along with "kamae" there are 6 "kihon dosa" (lit. "basic movements" in Japanese) which are considered to be central for the 150 basic techniques. Yoshinkan aikido students practice these diligently to understand how to move their "kamae" around to put themselves in a strong position. Without proper form in one's basic movements their aikido will not be effective.
The Yoshinkan Hombu dojo in Shinjuku, Tokyo runs an annual 11-month intensive, course called the Senshusei course. The book Angry White Pyjamas, by Robert Twigger, is based on his experiences in the course. Yoshokai aikido is an offshoot of Yoshinkan Aikido based in North America.
