Taidō - WikiHQ

Taidō is a Japanese martial art created in 1965 by Seiken Shukumine (1925–2001). Taidō has its roots in traditional Okinawan karate. Feeling that the martial arts, particularly karate, were not adapting to meet the needs of a changing world, Shukumine first developed a style of karate called Genseiryū around 1950.

Taidō is practiced in multiple countries, including Japan, United States, Haiti, Australia, England, France, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. The martial art is particularly popular in Finland.

Founding

thumb|Seiken Shukumine, the founder of Taidō, sought to overcome limitations of karate by developing the more flexible Taidō.

Initially, Seiken Shukumine had founded Genseiryū Karate. But eventually, Shukumine was convinced that the limitations of karate lay in its linear mode of training. He considered how to make the defense more flexible and universal.

In 1965, Shukumine introduced a new martial art.

In 1984, the World Taido Federation was established, globally standardizing the martial art of Taido. The first official World Championships in the sport were held in Japan in 1993.

The Suomen Taidoliitto (Finnish Taido Association) was founded in 1981, and it operated as the umbrella organization of all Finnish art clubs until 31 December 2013. Since 2011, the Finnish Taido Association was first a member of the Finnish Karate Association, and on 31 December 2013, after the dissolution of the Finnish Taido Association, its member clubs became directly members of the Karate Association as of 1 January 2014. Since then, the former arts association has formed an arts college in the Finnish Karate Association. Taido's sports college acts as a link between all Finnish Taido clubs and as an advocate for the sport in Finland and is called :fi:Suomen Taido.

Sweden

Taido came to Sweden and outside Japan via Kauko Korhonen who founded the club Taidokan in Stenungsund, which was the first in Sweden/Europe. In Sweden, Taido is organized through the Swedish Budo and Martial Arts Association.

United States

According to American Taido Association, the presence of Taido in United States is extremely limited, with merely a single dojo situated in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. However, the association is aiming to expand in the future.

Multiple university clubs, all acting as branches of the dojo in Peachtree Corners, exist in the Southeastern United States, including at the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Mississippi State University. Occasional Taido seminars are taught through the Dartmouth Japan Society at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Fort Lauderdale, Florida once hosted a branch of the Peachtree Corners dojo, but is now defunct.

Elsewhere

In Germany, since October 2011 there is an association in Lübeck (Uni-Dojo Zanshin Lübeck).

Taido was established in Norway in 2009. Currently, Halden Taido Club is the only club in Norway.

Australia has Taido clubs in UNSW Sydney and Victoria University Melbourne.

Great Britain too is currently limited to a single dojo situated in Exeter.

Other

Taidō is unrelated to Shintaido. Taidō is also unrelated to Taido (read by some as 'futoudo').

Shojo Manga (Keep Your Eyes Open) is centered on the martial art of Taido.

Yutaka Ozaki studied Taido in his childhood. Novelist Hideo Yokoyama also belonged to Taido Club during his college years. Finnish MMA fighter studied Taido in his youth.

On November 12, 2023, Bandai Namco revealed a new character for the upcoming Tekken 8, Reina, whose fighting style is based on Taido. Bandai Namco collaborated with renowned Taido expert Tetsuji Nakano (中野哲爾), four-time winner of the Taido World Championships, during the design and animation phase of Reina's moveset.

Notes

References

Taido Gairon (The Outline of Taido) Japanese, Seiken SHUKUMINE, 1988,
Taido Kyohan (Taido Instructions) Japanese, Mitsuo KONDO et al., 2004, Taguchi Printinghous Ltd.
World Taido Federation Homepage