First fictional film to show Aikido

Question

I was wondering what was the first fictional film to show more than one Aikido technique¹. I am assuming that the 1988 Above The Law might be it but it there might be something else.

^{_{1 Let's assume more than one technique done differently. So, a dozen kotegaeshi would not really fit but add an ikkajo and all is good.}}

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 24 '17 at 14:50

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I have seen references to the 1982 film, The Challenge, prominently showing Aikido (Seagal was a fight coordinator).

The Challenge is a 1982 American action film directed by John Frankenheimer and co-written by John Sayles. The film stars Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune. It is noted that this film features several aikido-based action scenes choreographed by Steven Seagal, prior to the start of his own film career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEL08kvdNEY

answered Jan 24 '17 at 14:50

Macaco Branco

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I feel like there is likely a case somewhere of an earlier usage, albeit possibly not featured, since the martial art has been around since the advent of film, but I have not figured out a good way to search for it. – Macaco Branco Jan 25 '17 at 10:49

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 30 '18 at 01:49

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By searching for "Aikido film" on Google I found this one from 1975: The Defensive Power of Aikido not sure if this meets your requirements though, since it's about the actual founder, Morihei Ueshiba.

edited Dec 30 '18 at 01:49

Macaco Branco

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answered Dec 30 '18 at 00:19

p.marino

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It is not a documentary, though - IMDB says it is an Action Movie. – p.marino Dec 31 '18 at 15:06
It's probably some sort of biopic like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ip_Man_(film) ... – p.marino Jan 02 '19 at 09:38

First fictional film to show Aikido

2 Answers2