Before Morihei Ueshiba founded his incredibly popular art of Aikido, he practiced and taught the art of Daito Ryu, a jujutsu school led by a very unusual man named Takeda Sokaku. Many of the followers of Daito Ryu insist to this day that it is an ancient traditional jujutsu school, but no evidence has emerged to support this claim.

What we do know is this. Takeda Sokaku was a feared and respected fighter who taught some unusual principles based around a concept known as “aiki.” He taught these principles largely through the medium of traditional jujutsu forms, and to a lesser extent through swordsmanship. He claimed that the “aiki” skills had come down to him through his family. “Aiki” is not very easy to boil down or define, but Takeda could display some very unusual abilities such as being able to make opponents fall down with techniques so subtle they often had no idea what he had done to them. A tiny handful of his students displayed some of the same abilities, of whom Morihei Ueshiba was one. Most of his students couldn't do what he could do, just as most of Ueshiba's students couldn't do what he could do.

“Aiki” is apparently not very easy to pick up, as even most of those who train for years will never really get it. The fact that it exists at all, though, is so intriguing to many martial artists that both Aikido and Daito Ryu continue to attract new practitioners.