International

Concept I.S.T.A.
What signifies I.S.T.A.?

Literally : International School of Traditional Aïkido

In short, I.S.T.A. is an organization which is remained faithful to what must be aikido.

I.S.T.A is a model of organization which avoids the sportive, commercial and administrative drifts which underlies many aikido groups.

 

The traditional concept: One master - One dojo
A traditional discipline is founded on a long experimentation over the time. Arts answering this definition are transmitted individuals to individuals, from master to student.
This teaching requests the genius of each one, it aims to freedom, to train autonomous people.

Aikido as a traditional art lie within this scope; the professor is the Master:
- Of his discipline
aikido is an art, and like such, it is adapted by the Master who practises and teaches his aikido. The way is like the wire of the sabre: a step on side, and one is not any more in the way. No compromise is possible, it is necessary that each one continues its research until the end.
- Of his practice
Each teacher adapts his practice to his age, his experiment, his physique, his research. The technique is a tool, a language, a mean and not a finality.
-Of his teaching
He teaches his art with apprentices put to the test (uchi deshi), according to personal principles for which he is the only responsible for.

He evaluates his own work, the delivery of ranks is his responsibility (who else could do it?)
His quality, the quality of its pupils, are the only witnesses of his competence.

It is important that one chooses his professor carefully, the traditional spirit not being alone systematically pledge of quality.
This system is certainly not perfect, the yin which cannot exist without the yang, but it remains according to us the most intelligent and adapted model for aikido.

From this model, joined with a right understanding of the principles and bases of aikido, rises logically a certain type of practice, which insists on the essential and and proscribes any contradictory things.

For exemple:
  • Maitre Ueshiba used to say : "To say I will work ikkyo or shiho nage denounces a rupture with the true direction of the practice. The technique must be born from MA-AI at the time of the attack and generate adequate displacement." Which is essential is what is common to all the techniques: the bases. However, this concept of “bases” is not understood correctly by all. The bases of aikido do not correspond to the training of “displacements”. Often the courses for beginners are reduced to teach some displacements without any partner. But it is a very bad way to teach. It's teaching particularities rather than the globality. Exactly what O' sensei was against. Detached from the technique, these movements correspond to nothing. In the beginning they have not been invented before use; it is only afterwards that the masters realized that such displacement and such posture is more effective. It is thus important to make carry out the techniques in a global way, especially with the beginners.
 
  • We think that the famous "ranking tests" is incoherent, because is to evaluate the accessory. In fact it is not the same motivations which push a consumer to require a rank to satisfy its ego (lthough the ranks kyu and dan were invented in this direction) and an apprentice to know what is his place in the dojo, what is his function in the artisanal company, the house of the Master. The true evaluation depends on the constant frequentation with the student, and on the demonstration of his engagement for promotion of aikido, not on a 20 minutes test following a training, for example. The student is evaluated constantly by the professor who gives the ranks his own way, according to technical progress certainly, but especially of the implication of the student in the life of the dojo.
 
  • To avoid, in accordance with the desire of Me Ueshiba, to mix aikido with other martial disciplines which have their own history, their particular framework, and which do not require that one transposes an Aïkido point of view of to them. It is thus necessary to proscribe the mixing of Iaido and Aikido like that is often done, because it is contradictory and not productive. In aikido, one practises Aikiken, since the objective of the work with the weapons is not to make us "small samurais" or to learn how to fight with weapons, but to highlight the principles of the aikido. Aikido has a posture which is not that of Iaido, and the body cannot make natural two different positions.
    (Don't confuse this criticism with a critic of Iaido as such or other martial arts. Any martial arts has its value, its own culture. The aikido is neither better nor worse than the others, it is simply different. With each one to choose the art which is appropriate to him, but while avoiding all the same mixing.)
 
  • To proscribe, in the same vein, the sporting, aerobic or muscular practice, such the "push-ups" in a course. Because if any presentation on the aikido stresses the fact that the aikido does not require any physical force, why then put such an amount of energy in the muscles? Logically, if aikido does not require any physical force and is known to be practicable by people of all physical conditions, then one must remove any "sporting" aspect of the practice. Aerobic and muscular working are valuable disciplines for health, but nevertheless needs to be kept distinct from aikido.
 
  • To avoid finally dojos which offers schedules for beginners, intermediaries and advanced students. Similarity is synonym to death according to an Eastern proverb. To divide the courses between various categories of practitionners constitutes the best manner of not progressing. Only the difference makes it possible to us to improve and what could be better than perfect beginner in order to judge our aptitude to transmit our practice! However the beginners annoy, it is more comfortable to practise with the old ones.
    This is why course for beginners should not exist, but mixed classes where advanced and beginners work together. The more advanced, when attacked, will guide the neophyte in the good direction and, when he carries out the technique, control his gestures in order to preserve the physical integrity of his partner.