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Aikijutsu Academy of Indianapolis Senso-Ryu Hombu Dojo |
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What is Aikijutsu? Historically,
Aikijutsu or Aikijujutsu was the unarmed martial art of the Samurai elite. An advanced form
of jujutsu. Our style of Aikijutsu is called "Senso-Ryu", which translates to "war style". It is a modern composite martial art of self defense consisting of jujutsu (grappling, submissions, immobilizations), atemi- waza (striking techniques), projections (throws) with "aiki" principles, and weapons. It is an extremely well rounded martial art.
Richard Behrens Shihan Originally
developed in the late 1960's by Richard Behrens Shihan from various
Japanese arts, It is an effective system primarily focusing on
defense against multiple attackers. We claim no
direct connection to any specific koryu. This art is extremely effective for law enforcement and security. Our teacher, Ted Hanulak Sensei, is a former decorated police officer and private security specialist. He has taken his personal hands-on fighting / self defense experience through the years and applied it to this art. This is not a martial art based on theory taught by people who have no practical experience. This is the real thing.
Dojo
How
is the The
dojo etiquette and atmosphere is of the traditional nature. We
consider the dojo to be a sacred place were men and women hone
their skills and perfect their character through hard training
and deep introspection. The focus is on practical self defense. We
believe that we are one of just a few dojo left that still
train in such a manner. The
Kamiza (left), Yoroi (right)
The
The Aikijutsu Academy of Indianapolis resides within the Sensei's home. There is the main dojo matted area, a bathroom / changing area, and an outdoor meditation area. It is quite a beautiful facility. Aside from being beautiful, the dojo is state of the art.
Tatami
The tatami (flooring) mats are made of polyurethane. In addition, under the tatami is 4 inches of polyurethane foam. This causes the impact, when someone is thrown on the matt, to spread instead of "bottoming out". This greatly lessens the chance of long term injury. The walls also help keep injuries to a minimum. Due to the style of training, students often smash into the walls. The walls have been specially designed to "give" a bit upon impact. This keeps the student from getting hurt as well as keeps the walls from getting damaged.
How
long does it take to become a black belt in your system?
The more appropriate question should be "How long does it take to become proficient in self defense in your system?". The answer to that lies solely on the individual student and cannot be given a time table. Our system, as with all martial arts, requires the student to learn specific numbers of principles and techniques. Becoming "proficient" with these principles and techniques in actual fighting situations is a different story altogether. This is what separates those who just learn techniques like dance moves and those who can actually apply them in dangerous life threatening situations. This does not come easy. Shihonage
What
is the training like?
Contact
and striking distance between students is first and foremost the
most important part of training. Contact can range from soft to hard
as skill advances but it still must be made. Striking distance has
to be realistic. The students must strike through their targets, not
stopping 6 inches away. This can create a dangerous false
confidence. When you practice, ultimately you are training your reflexes to deal with surprise attacks. What is repeatedly practiced in class is what will "come out" in the street when attacked for real. If you practice pulling your strikes, then that is exactly what you will do. People like to think that they can "step it up" when actually attacked even though they train in unrealistic ways. It doesn't work this way. If you do not train realistically, you will not be able to defend yourself. How many times have you watched a martial art class and thought to yourself "Nobody attacks like that in real life." In many systems the attacks are done in such a fashion to actually help the defender execute a throw or perform a technique. In the beginning this may be necessary for initial learning, but eventually the attacks must be taken to the next level. Many martial arts stop short at this point. We do not. Learning to attack is an art form within itself. The new student is first taught how to attack his fellow student. That may sound strange but what you have to understand is the only way the defending student can realistically practice is if the attacking student legitimately attacks. In real life, people often attack with wild abandonment, flailing arms, tackling, biting, kicking, eye gouging..etc. If this is how most street attacks happen, would it not make sense to train against such attacks? At the Senso-Ryu, we practice against these types attacks. We also practice simulating realistic environments such as training in the dark, against surprise attacks, multiple attacks,..etc.
Do
you teach children?
We
only accept students 18 years of age or older. We rarely have anyone
studying under the age of 21. A high level of maturity is required
due to the aggressive nature of the art.
Outside Meditation Area
Does
the meditation involve any religious connotations?
While it is true that Zen meditation is derived from Mahayana Buddhism, which we greatly respect, our practice is strictly secular. We have people from all different religious backgrounds practicing together.
We train with traditional weaponry such as bokuto (wooden sword), Jo (4'staff) tanto (wooden knife), and katana (sword) for the practice of balance, control, and the forging of courage. All of our projections (throws) are based on the sword. We also train against modern gun and knife attacks.
Kamidana
How
does one join the We ask that you first call us at 317-697-3387 to set up an appointment to watch a class and interview with the Sensei. Due to the fact that the dojo is within the Sensei's home, space is limited. We do not need anymore students. Having said this, we are always interested in meeting new people that could potentially be an asset to the dojo. There are a lot of martial arts and martial art schools out there. We encourage you to explore other schools before visiting us.
©Copyright 1992-2008
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