Taido is a martial art which belongs to a group of Japanese systems commonly refered to as Budo. Other examples of Budo are: Judo, Karate-do, Aikido and Kendo.
Taido was developed from Gensei-ryu-karate-do by the Okinawa-born master Seiken Shukumine, the founder of both systems. Taido resembles an acrobatic form of karate. Taido techniques consist of body movements in connection with punches, kicks and an ocational throw. Taido contains a lot of motion and the Taidoka (Taido student) often moves his body over a great distance by way of headrolls, cartwheels and high leaps.
Five Types of Body Movements:
- Sen - Vertical spinning movement
- Un - Ascending and descending
wave-like movement
- Hen - Falling movement characterized
by changing the body's axis
- Nen - Horizontal spinning movement
- Ten - Rolling and tumbling movement
These movements are combined with punches, kicks, and other techniques. The last category, Ten, includes acrobatic movements, for instance back-flips, which makes Taido spectacular to watch. Taido has a special kind of foot-work, which is called unsoku, as well as non-stepping (acrobatic) locomotion, called unshin.
Taido differs from other martial arts by the methods utilized for moving the body about and by the principles for developing power in attack and defence. Taido techniques are designed to make use of the three-dimentional space by which is meant that techniques are performed from the air downwards, from a standing position in a horizontal plane, or from the floor upwards.
One of Taido's unique qualities is the fact that weightclasses are unnecessary for the undertaking of tournaments. Taido-techniques work in a way, which makes it possible for Taidoka of very different size and strength to train together or face each other in tournaments.
Regular daily training consists of:
- Strength and flexibilty exercises
- Gymnastic leap training
- Learning basic techniques
- Attack and defence combinations with partner
- Form-training ("Hokei")
- Free improvised fighting (“Jissen")
In Taido, all parts of the body are excercised evenly. Taido works as a highly effective physical exercise with a very low risk of strain and injury. Taidoka can continue to develop their skills at the same time as they benefit fully from the physical exercise even after having reached an age where a person would normally not take part in an intense physical activity. Taido is a healthy and exciting traditional martial art, a form of selfdefence and a modern competetive sport. The training of Taido is in itself an experience and not just a way of learning selfdefence or preparing for tournaments.
Tournaments: Taido-tournaments features Jissen (free individual sparring), hokei (individuel form) and several different team disciplines. The concept of Taido’s free improvised sparring is very different from a "full contact / knockout" match. Jissen is a duel on Taido techniques carried out under complex rules. It is not allowed to injure ones opponent and matches can only be won by executing well-performed, fully controlled techniques.
To the audience Taido is some of the most dynamic entertainment one can imagine. Only desires for knockouts and bloodshed are not satisfied. To the Taidoka the different disciplines are at least as joyfull to engage in, as they are to watch. Tournaments display men's-, women's-, junior's-, and senior's competitions. Senior competitions are for Taidokas who have reached the age of 35. International tournaments are always social occations where old friends meet and new friendships are made.
Training suit: The suit used for Taido-training is called a Taido-"gi". The suit consists of a heavy white jacket and a black underpart called a "Hakama". The Hakama is a modified version of traditionel Japanese clothing that is also used in systems like Aikido and Kendo. The Taido Hakama has legs that are a little slimmer than the legs of the hakama used in other Japanese martial arts systems.
Belts: Similar to other Japanese martial arts, Taido utilize belts to designate ranks. Belts are achieved after passing a "ranking-examination". The dojo arranges ranking-examinations at regular intervals. Belts represent "Kyu" (student-ranks) and "Dan" (performer-ranks). The lowest rank is 6’kyu. After 1’kyu comes 1’Dan. Dan ranks go to 8.dan.
The color of the belts according to rank are :
- 6’ and 5’ kyu - blue
- 4’ and 3’ kyu - green
- 2’ and 1’ kyu - brown
- Dan-grades - black
A special bicolored (black/green or black/brown) belt is worn by leading instructors holding a rank of 4’Dan or higher and the additional title of Renshi, Kyoshi or Hanshi. Normally It takes about 5 to 6 years of stable training, 3 times per week, to obtain 1.dan, the first black belt. |
