Ellis Amdur wrote: wrote: This is an interesting question, really. I just reread Douglas Walker's translation - three parts - on the life of Shirata Rinjiro. And a large part of that was taryu-shiai. And in another interview, published by Chris Li on the Sangenkai site, Kuroiwa Yoshio tells how all the uchi-deshi in the 1950's trained to take on dojo challenges, Kuroiwa's intention (besides boxing) being a koshinage dropping the guy on his head. I was at Kuroiwa sensei's house when a yakuza boss came to pay his respects, something he did once a year in memory of being dumped four times with that koshinage when Kuroiwa interrupted the yakuza (Momose, a 4th dan amateur sumo) from breaking up a friends dojo.

There was, in fact, (and probably still is) one or two deshi who are the designated minders of the school, and they handle any dojo challenges in the Aikikai.

It is fair to say that the ring has rules different from a free-fight, but if you flinch from blows in the ring, you will in the street.

Shirata sensei emphasized that beyond technique, irimi was the crucial element requisite to manage an assaultive individual. The young man in the video was back on his heels the entire time - he was catching - or trying to - attacks.

One of my most powerful aikido memories was the first time I took ukemi for Chiba Kazuo - his entry was so powerful that I was destabilized from that point on and never recovered. HIs technique, at that time, I thought was not that high a level (an observation of films over the years shows he continued to develop and refine his skill almost until his death, fwiw). but it was irrelevant, because his irimi was the most explosive and powerful I think I've ever experience in aikido. It is fair to say that Ueshiba Morihei's aikido, tori attacked. These days tori/nage - receives and then techniques. That's very different.