Gozo Shioda

was a Japanese master of aikido who founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido.Aikido Yoshinkan: About Gozo Shioda (Yoshinkan Founder)
(c. 2009). Retrieved on February 27, 2010. Anonymous (1964): "Yoshinkai Aikido Institute." ''Black Belt'', 2(4):52–55. He was one of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba's most senior students.Adams, A. (1974): "Status report: The 'other' Aikido." ''Black Belt'', 12(2):34–37.Zernow, D., & Hadden, J. (1982): "Aikido Yoshinkai: Power and harmony." ''Black Belt'', 20(11):56–60, 84–87.Makiyama, T. H. (1983): ''Keijutsukai Aikido: Japanese art of self-defense'' (p. 9). Burbank, CA: Ohara. ()Kogan, D., & Kim, S.-J. (1996): ''Tuttle dictionary of the martial arts of Korea, China & Japan'' (p. 311). Rutland, VT: C. E. Tuttle. () Shioda held the rank of 10th ''dan'' in aikido.

Early life

Shioda was born on September 9, 1915, in Shinjuku, Tokyo. His father was Seiichi Shioda, a physician who also taught judo and kendo. Shioda was a weak child, and reportedly credited his survival to his father's pediatric skills.Pranin, S. A. (c. 1987)
Morihei Ueshiba and Gozo Shioda
Retrieved on February 28, 2010. While still at school, Shioda trained in judo, attaining the rank of 3rd ''dan'' before completing secondary school. He also trained in kendo during his youth.Pranin, S. A. (c. 2009)
The Encyclopedia of Aikido: Shioda, Gozo
Retrieved on February 28, 2010.

Aikido career

Shioda began training under the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, in 1932. His training as an ''uchi-deshi'' (live-in student) under Ueshiba continued for eight years.Allemann, B. (2004): ''Aikido'' (p. 13). London: New Holland. () Shioda was a small man, standing at around 5' 1" to 5' 2" (155–157 cm) and weighing around 102 lb. to 108 lb. (46–49 kg).

Shioda graduated from Takushoku University, where he went to class with Judo master Masahiko Kimura and Kyokushin Karate founder Mas Oyama, in 1941, and was posted to administrative positions in China, Taiwan, and Borneo during World War II. In one incident in China,Shioda, G. (2002): ''Aikido Shugyo: Harmony in confrontation'' (trans. J. Payet & C. Johnston) (p. 207). Shindokan Books International. () he was drinking in a bar with an army friend in Shanghai when the friend got into an argument with a local gang member. Three of his fellow gang members came to his assistance. Shioda and his friend were cornered by the gang. In the ensuing fight, Shioda broke the leg of one of the gang members, the arm of another, and stopped another by punching him in the stomach, all using his aikido skills. Shioda later described this incident as his 'aikido enlightenment' and wrote that one could only truly appreciate what aikido was about once one had used it in a life-or-death situation.

Shioda returned to Japan in 1946 and spent several months trying to locate his family on Kyushu. He rejoined Ueshiba for a month of intensive training, but was forced to dedicate the next few years to earning a living in post-war Japan. He began teaching aikido in 1950. That year, he taught for the company Nihon Kokan at the Asano Shipyards in Yokohama. In 1954, he entered the All Japan Kobudo demonstration, and won the prize for the most outstanding demonstration. This marked a turning point for the growth of aikido. Shioda's performance attracted sponsorship that enabled him to build an aikido ''dōjō'' (training hall).

In 1955, Shioda founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido, which emphasizes self-defense applications.Dang, P. T., & Seiser, L. (2003): ''Aikido basics'' (p. 22). Boston, MA: Tuttle. () The name "Yoshinkan" was the name Shioda's father had used for his own judo ''dōjō''.Shioda, G. (1986)
An Aikido life
''Aiki News'' (No. 72, September 1986). Retrieved on February 28, 2010. According to biographer Stanley Pranin, this separation from his master's school has been little understood. Pranin notes that Ueshiba's school independently recovered later on, so that "there never occurred a formal split between the two organizations despite their rather different approaches to aikido. The two groups simply evolved independently while maintaining more or less cordial ties."

In an interview with Andy Adams for '' Black Belt'' magazine, Shioda said, "I don't really feel that I broke away from the mainstream of aikido since there was nothing to break away from back then. Ueshiba sensei (the late Morihei Ueshiba, founder of aikido) was farming, his son Kisshomaru was working for some company, and the sensei's aikido dōjō at Iwama in Ibaragi Prefecture was being rented out as a dance hall" (p. 34). Speaking about that same period, Moriteru Ueshiba said, "there was not yet much activity at the Hombu Dojo. For a time my father isshomaru Ueshibawas actually in Iwama instead ... starting around 1949, he worked for about seven years at a company called Osaka Shoji. He had no other choice. Even if you have a dojo, you can't make a living if nobody is coming to train, which was largely the case after the war. So, he took a job as an ordinary company employee during the day and taught only in the mornings and evenings."Pranin, S. A. (1999)
Interview with Moriteru Ueshiba
Retrieved on February 28, 2010.

In 1957, Shioda developed the Senshusei course

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