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Taido is a new Japanese martial art with its
roots in traditional Okinawan Karate. It was
founded by Seiken Shukumine who started to
practise Karate in Okinawa in his childhood.
Seiken Shukumine first founded a style of
Karate called Gensei ryu in 1950. Gensei ryu
developed further and became Taido, which
was officially founded in 1965. It should
also be pointed out that Taido has continued
to develop since its creation in the 1960s
and that it is still developing.
Characteristic features of Taido are the
five types of body movements and the
extensive use of footwork. The five body
movements, which are based upon changes in
the body axis, are:
| |
Sen |
'Top-spinning
movement' |
| |
Un |
'Ascending and
descending wave like movement' |
| |
Hen |
'Movement like a
falling tree' |
| |
Nen |
'Whirl like movement' |
| |
Ten |
'Rolling movement like
a ball' |
These five movements are combined with,
for example, kicks and punches. Therefore, a
crucial difference between Taido and Karate
is that a Taido practitioner always performs
a technique, for example a kick, in
combination with one of these five body
movements.
The emphasis on movement makes Taido more
acrobatic than other Japanese martial arts.
It should always be remembered, however,
that some of the movements of Taido are very
advanced and should be trained with caution.
Furthermore, it is not a requirement to
learn all the difficult tengi techniques in
order to advance.
The five movements make it possible to
perform a defensive movement and at the same
time deliver an attack. For example, the
hen-movement can be exemplified with a dodge
that is performed while kicking at the same
time.
Another important part of Taido is the
extensive use of footwork, called unsoku.
The footwork is used tactically to control
the opponent, create an angle and also to
avoid the opponent's attack. It can also be
used to add speed to the techniques and to
adjust the distance to the opponent. Unsoku
is formally trained in a pattern called
unsoku happo, 'eight ways to move the feet'.
Taido is different from other Japanese
martial arts in having the system of five
body movements and unsoku. However, it
should be mentioned that Taido at the same
time is a very traditional Japanese martial
art. For example, in Japanese martial arts
the correct use of the koshi is very
important. The word koshi roughly
corresponds to the hips. Taido maintains
this tradition and the correct use of the
hips is constantly emphasized during Taido
training. Another important thing is to be
able to perform a correct fighting stance,
called kamae. There is, of course, much more
to be said, but this has merely been meant
to serve as a brief introduction. |
