Alexander Gent - Invidious

I am back in Japan and this time I had the opportunity to train with Takeshi Amitani ‪@amitasumo‬ a 5-time Japanese National Sumo Champion.

Some of my Aikido students travelled with me and joined in the training. It was a valuable experience for all of us. The feeling of training in this Dohyo is significantly different to training on mats. Takeshi has a wealth of experience, and is very knowledgeable. It was a honour to be able to learn from him. He gave me several details to work on which I really appreciate.

I plan to upload some training footage later this month. In the meantime, if you want to find out more about Takeshi, please check out his website:
www.amitasumo.com/

3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 8

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Alexander Gent

Today I competed in the British National Tuishou (Tai Chi Push Hands) Championships held in High Wycombe.

It was great to experience competing in Tuishou for the first time and to watch some of the other competitions too. It was an exhausting final but I managed to secure Gold in the under 90Kg category.

Thanks Paul from Bamboo Forest Martial Arts for the Tuishou training and helping me prepare for this. Also congratulations to all the other competitors, there were some really awesome and inspiring matches!

7 months ago | [YT] | 20

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Alexander Gent

Yesterday I received my 1st Kyu in Sumo. Congratulations to George on getting his 1st Dan, Mike and Nick on getting 3rd Kyu and everyone else who was graded.

I also received an award for Outstanding Performance (Shukun-Sho). Congratulations to Yosh for his award for Fighting Sprit and Lee for Technique (Most Improved).

To see my bouts in this years National Sumo Championship click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMatb...

#sumo #wrestling #grappling

11 months ago | [YT] | 7

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Alexander Gent

On the 31st May 2025 the British Sumo Federation National Championships were held in Barnsley.

I competed in the under 85kg lightweight category and managed to win Gold. It was a great event, and some tough competition! Thanks to Richard from Barnsley Sumo, and everyone from the BSF for organising, and congratulations to the other medalists and all competitors who took part.

I plan to put together a video soon covering my bouts and thoughts on Aikido in Sumo. If you are interested, keep an eye out and let me know if there is anything specific you would like me to cover.

1 year ago | [YT] | 11

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Alexander Gent

The videos I posted recently were from last years Shoot Aikido seminar. I have also attended this years seminar and have filmed some more footage which I plan to post soon.

I've had several questions regarding the rules of sparring within Shoot Aikido. Unfortunately I cannot speak Japanese, and do not want to relay any information incorrectly therefore it is better for me to provide a link to the Aikido S.A. website which has this information and can be accessed via the URL below.
www.aikido-sa.com/%E5%A4%A7%E4%BC%9A%E3%83%AB%E3%8…

If you have not seen it already you can see some of the sparring from last years seminar via the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z-tD...

Thanks again to Sakurai Sensei for another great seminar and allowing me to film. Also thanks to all the other participants for good training and helpful advice!

1 year ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

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Alexander Gent

Last year I attended a Shoot Aikido seminar in Tokyo. This was a great experience which I talk about in my latest video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mn1S...

I will be posting a video of some of the sparring during the seminar later this week.

1 year ago | [YT] | 3

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Alexander Gent

Last year, I had the privilege of attending a Tennen Rishin Ryū seminar in Tokyo, led by Katō Sensei, and I’m finally sharing a few photos from the experience. Tennen Rishin Ryū is a Japanese sword school with deep historical roots.

The seminar was a great learning experience. One of the highlights was working with the heavy bokutō, (I thought an Iwama bokken was meant to be heavy)! It was quite intense training with these bokutō, they can really help to improve focus and develop good core strength, structure and foundation.

Katō Sensei is so passionate about his art and was happy to share his knowledge. The senior students were also patient and helped guide me through the partner practice. The atmosphere was traditional but welcoming, and I learnt a lot, much of which can be integrated into my own training.

I’ll be heading back for another seminar soon, and I’m really looking forward to diving deeper into the system.

A big thank you to @paritu29 for welcoming me and giving me this experience.

If you're interested in Japanese swordsmanship that pre-dates Kendo, then Tennen Rishin Ryū is definitely worth exploring.

To see my last visit to Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LroAK...

#TennenRishinRyu #Kenjutsu #Bokuto

1 year ago | [YT] | 8

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Alexander Gent

Thank you to ‪@GoldenMiddleAge‬ for inviting me on for an interesting discussion about stick fighting and the spread of martial arts throughout the Arab and Islamic world.

We also take a look at a Furussiya manuscript, and have a go at interpreting some of the techniques mentioned.

2 years ago | [YT] | 13

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Alexander Gent

It's been a while since I made a post so I thought would update you all with some recent events and a few things on my mind.

A couple of weeks ago I attended Fight Camp for the first time. Firstly, thank you to Matt Easton @scholagladiatoria and everyone else involved with organising the event, it was a great experience! I took part in a random weapons tournament which was quite entertaining and also the open weapons tournament where I got silver - not too bad for a 40 year old Aikidoka! I narrowly missed out on first place which was deservedly won by Ben Hamilton from Saorsa who was undefeated and won an impressive 40 fights!

I fought with a range of different weapons in the open tournament, including longsword, katana, double sword, sword and shield, staff and even tomahawks! This included steels, nylon and wooden weapons. I had most success with the longsword, double messer and jo. Ironically I performed worst with the katana. Although no-one else used a katana, I did use mine against others who used a single handed sword. I soon realised the disadvantage this gave me. Single-handed swords such as sabres, side swords and broadswords were more nimble, had better reach and hand protection. This made it extremely difficult to get into range without also being hit. I definitely need to work on cross-training with other weapons more!

As for the staff, I fought with both a Jo and Quarter staff and although I realised I have a lot to work on, I was generally happy with my performance. This got me thinking, why doesn't the Aikido community explore this avenue more? There is a lot of what we do in Aikido that can translate to applied weapons sparring. Would Aikidoka be interested in something like this for the weapons we use? I have been working on rule sets for my students which I would like to test out with others as well. I would be interested to hear your thoughts, would this appeal to you? If anyone would like to discuss further please reach out, also if you are in the area in the north of England, please get in touch. Is this a good or bad idea? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

2 years ago | [YT] | 5

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Alexander Gent

Goodbye 2022 and happy new year from Thailand!

As I reflect on the past year, I think about some goals I've achieved and others that are are still in progress.

Sometimes it takes time to reach certain objectives and in the moment it can feel very slow and arduous. However it is worth looking at things on a macro scale to really see and appreciate progression.

I hope you all continue to work hard and strive to achieve whatever it is you are doing.

Best wishes to everyone for 2023.

3 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 8

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