Actor and 7th degree aikido black belt Steven Seagal was recently featured in an interesting video, where he dazzled his host with his knowledge of the Japanese language and what he deemed were ancient & secret techniques that he had learned. A Japanese Karate master took upon himself to analyze the video and debunk what he believes are gross mistakes in his interpretation of Japanese language and martial arts history.
Kobudo Misconceptions Addressed
Nagano begins by addressing a common misconception about Kobudo. Contrary to popular belief, “Kobudo is not a weapon style in Okinawa,” he emphasizes. He clarifies that Kobudo refers to Japanese martial arts developed before 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration, a significant turning point in Japan’s history.
Impact of Meiji Restoration on Martial Arts
The Meiji Restoration had profound effects on the martial arts in Japan. Nagano details this impact, highlighting four key events:
- The Sword Abolishment Edict of 1876, which prohibited carrying swords, limiting samurai practice.
- The Abolition of the Han System, resulting in loss of employment and training opportunities for samurai.
- The Introduction of Western weapons, which diminished the respect for traditional fighting styles.
- The Destruction of the Hierarchical System, which devalued the social status of samurais.
Understanding ‘Uraden’
Central to Seagal’s claims is the term ‘Uraden’, which he implied was a secret Ju-Jutsu style. Nagano corrects this, explaining that “Uraden is not a secret Ju-Jutsu style” but a term referring to high-level techniques across various martial arts forms.
Journey into True Kobudo
Nagano expresses his intention to delve deeper into true Kobudo. He notes that finding authentic Kobudo training in Japan is challenging, given the art’s ancient and secretive nature.
Seagal was recently asked what he thought about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and its effectiveness.
He openly gave his opinion and had reservations about fighting on the ground:
“When people say “all fights end up on the ground” they are incorrect. 90 percent of the fights that I know end standing up with one person going horizontal. They (the samurai) knew if they went to the ground they were dead because they were on the battlefield. We don’t want to dive down on the ground and just as much time as those guys spend trying to dive in your legs and get you, we spend just as much time cutting your head off or knocking you out or ripping your eyes out or ripping your throat out or severing your brainstem when you go down there because your head and your neck will be vulnerable.”
“I don’t care who you are if you know what we know yeah and then i’ll show you.”
Rickson Gracie was once asked what he thought about Steven Seagal and if he is legit.
This was Rickson Gracie’s response:
“Definitely. [Seagal] has – based on his training – a deep understanding of the concepts. How good he is in real life, how he will display his effectiveness, I’m not sure. His philosophy is based on proven realities. He believes in technique, and the concepts within Martial Arts.”
So what does this mean exactly. For Rickson, Seagal has a deep understanding of Aikido’s fundamentals. When it comes to effectiveness, he believes that the only way to see how legit he is from live training. This is why it is important to test your technique on resisting opponents in live sparring, to be able to see what truly works.
A martial art and martial artist that doesn’t actively train with his students to test and refine his techniques, cannot improve…
Now when BJJ and Taekwondo black belt Joe Rogan was asked about Steven Seagal, he went deeper questioning the effectiveness of the martial art of Aikido….
In the past, Joe Rogan welcomed an Aikido Master during his podcast and slowly broke Aikido down, calling it the most ineffective martial art ever.
When asked how he would deal with a wrestler, his guest answered:
“I’d just step to the side”
