O-Sensei
The resultant art of Aikido was revealed to the public in 1946 and become one of the fastest-growing martial arts to date. O-Sensei's Aikido is based not only upon Taijutsu (body arts) but also on the use of weapons, namely the Aiki Ken (wooden sword) and Aiki Jo (wooden quarter staff).
O-Sensei regarded an understanding of the use of these weapons as fundamental to the proper execution of open-handed techniques, but would seldom teach them at the Hombu dojo in Tokyo. He wished for those looking for his Aikido to learn the Aiki weapons at the birthplace of Aikido in Iwama.
What is Takemusu Aikido?
Most Aikido practitioners (Aikidoka) who have heard about Iwama style aikido (now called Takemusu Aikido) know that this special style, or form, of Aikido emphasizes the use of weapons (Buki) as well as the practice of unarmed techniques (taijutsu).
The weapons used in our way of practice are the bokuto (wooden sword), jo (staff) and tanto (knife).
O-Sensei used to say "taijustsu jo ken , bukiwaza onaji desu" meaning, the use of unarmed techniques, sword techniques and staff techniques are the same thing and this can be seen through practice with these weapons.
"Take" is the same Japanese character as the Bu in Bushido, meaning martial.
"Musu" means to give birth to, or create.
O-Sensei used the term Takemusu Aikido as a means to explain the highest level of Aikido – to be able to spontaneously use and create effective Aikido techniques in any given situation.
Another term used for this type of Aikido is Traditional Aikido.
Morihiro Saito Sensei
He began his Aikido training when he was eighteen years old. He had practiced Kendo as well as Shito-ryu Karate and Judo. Saito Sensei was accepted by Ueshiba O-Sensei as a student, and this was the beginning of a very long and close relationship. Due to his 24-hour on and 24-hour off working shift with the Japanese National Railroad, Saito Sensei had a lot of time for training at the Ueshiba dojo. Early morning classes were devoted to prayer at the Aiki Shrine followed by weapons practice. This was the period when The Founder was deeply engrossed in the study of Aiki-Ken and Aiki-Jo and their relationship to empty-handed techniques. Not only was Saito Sensei a diligent student, but he also helped The Founder in his daily life and took part in caring for the rice fields and other farming tasks. The founder was clearly impressed with the dedication shown by Saito Sensei. O-Sensei gave Saito Sensei a plot of land on his property and this is where Saito Sensei then built his house and lived with his wife and children side by side with the founder.
Saito Sensei made his first trip abroad in 1974 to teach seminars in California. His lucid teaching methods made him very popular among Aikido practitioners the world over. He travelled extensively throughout the world teaching from 1974 until 2000. In particular, there are large groups of Saito Sensei’s students in the U.S.A, Scotland England , Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Australia.
Saito Sensei continued the tradition of apprenticeship that he himself had experienced by running the “uchi-deshi” or live-in student system in the Iwama Dojo. In this way, people were able to live and breathe Aikido in the same dojo that the founder of the art had built and trained in. This gave students from all over the world not only an exceptional opportunity to train the techniques of Aikido in the actual dojo of the founder, but also to get a taste of the culture to which these techniques and adherent principles belong. With Japanese and foreign Aikido practitioners training, working and living together, this was truly a wonderful example of sharing the rich cultural heritage of Budo, in its traditional form, with the people of the world.