the tomiki aikido 15 basics

The Tomiki Aikido 15 Basics were first taught in North America when Jack Mumpower, a student of Kenji Tomiki and Hideo Ohba, opened a dojo in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1960. Mr. Mumpower learned these as the 15 martial principles of Aikido and not as a set of 15 benign techniques. He likewise taught them as such and does so consistently to this day. It is from these 15 Basics that all the Old Style koryu-dai kata (Old Style 1-4 were developed much later by Hideo Ohba to preserve applications that were not being taught as such by his students) and Tomiki Aikido technique derive. In fact, from these 15 core principles, it is said, there are couched over 2,500 martial techniques.

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striking principles

1. shomen-ate (facial attack)

2. Gyakugamae-ate (reverse posture attack)

3. Aigamae-ate (normal posture attack)

elbow principles

4. oshi-taoshi (push down, pull down)

5. Hiki-taoshi (pull down)

6. Ude-gaeshi (arm reverse)

7. Ude-garame (arm entanglement)

wrist twist principles

8. Kote-hineri (wrist twist)

9. Tenkai-kote-hineri (outside wrist twist)

10. Kote-mawashi (wrist torque)

11. Tenkai-kote-mawashi (outside wrist torque)

wrist turn principles

12. Kote-gaeshi (wrist reverse)

13. Hiji-kote-gaeshi (elbow to wrist reverse)

14. Shiho-nage (four-direction throw)

15. Tenkai shiho-nage (outside four-direction throw)

This training tape by Sensei Jack Mumpower compares the Aikido 15 Basics as originally taught to him by Mr. Tomiki with the 17 of the Randori-no Kata. Jack Mumpower trained under Mr. Tomiki and Hideo Ohba at Fuchu Air Force Station in Japan four days a week for more than two years and then opened the first indigenous Tomiki Aikido dojo in North America in Charlotte, NC in 1960.

This footage from 1960 reveals Jack Mumpower and Hideo Ohba demonstrating the Basic 15 (as originally taught by Mr. Tomiki) as well as Randori and some parts of Old Style 3.

*Note: At the end of the 1960 footage shot in Japan, Mr. Mumpower and Mr. Ohba are not practicing Koryu-dai-san, though it may appear so. These applications of the 15 Basics taught and applied long before the Koryu-dai kata were articulated. As Mr. Mumpower has often said, "We did everything you see in the Old Style kata as martial applications of the 15 Basics."