Category Archives: Interview

Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 2

Morihiro Saito - Traditional Aikido Volume 4

Morihiro Saito – Traditional Aikido Volume 4 When O-Sensei was not in Iwama, I was in charge of the teaching. I do not know who taught in Hombu dojo when O-Sensei was not there for obvious reasons, I was in Iwama. I rarely went to Hombu dojo. During 1960-61 O-Sensei was very vital. He then sometimes went to Tokyo to teach Aikido, though not many … Continue reading Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 2 »

Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 1

Morihiro Saito in Iwama, 1955

Morihiro Saito (left) with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba and his wife Hatsu Iwama – 1955, San-dai Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba (4 years old) seated middle 「バカモノ! まだ技をかけてないのに勝手に転びやがって!ここは本部ではない!開祖の合気道は、相手の協力なんかなくても倒れるように出来ているんだ!勝手に転ぶのではなく、倒されないように最後まで抵抗して掴め!開祖の合気道は武道なんだ!」 “Idiot! Falling down by yourself even though the technique hasn’t been applied yet! This isn’t Hombu! The Founder’s Aikido is made so that you can throw without the cooperation of the opponent! Don’t just fall down on your own, hold … Continue reading Budoka no Kotae – Talking to Morihiro Saito Sensei, Part 1 »

Interview with Aikido Shihan Yasuo Kobayashi – Part 2

Yasuo Kobayashi in Hawaii

Yasuo Kobayashi in Hawaii in 2008 the late Robert Kubo – Aikikai 8th Dan, Aikido Hawaii International, on the left “At that point in time, I was caught up in some of the political nonsense amongst various teachers residing in the States, and held forth on this one drunken night at one of the regular parties the dojo had, and Kobayashi sensei said, “X-sensei is … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Yasuo Kobayashi – Part 2 »

Interview with Aikido Shihan Yasuo Kobayashi – Part 1

Yasuo Kobayashi

Yasuo Kobayashi (小林保雄) Sensei – what a happy guy!  Yasuo Kobayashi was born in Tokyo in 1936 and started training in Judo in his fifth year of elementary school. He enrolled at Aikido Hombu Dojo in 1954, the same year that he entered Meiji University, becoming one of the early post-war students of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. Now an eighth dan, he is the head of Aikido … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Yasuo Kobayashi – Part 1 »

Interview with Aikido Shihan Kenji Shimizu – Part 2

Kenji Shimizu Sensei with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba

Kenji Shimizu Sensei with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba “You should think of ukemi as being the secret to aikido”. This is my personal experience. During my uchideshi time the founder made me fall without questioning, on top of this I was scolded mercilessly when my ukemi was bad. I had so many painful experiences, that I continuously worried about whether there would be ever any … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Kenji Shimizu – Part 2 »