Honolulu, Hawaii – Oahu
Kenji Shimizu (清水健二) in 2007 Was O-Sensei irregular about coming to the dojo? Yes, he was. When I was actively practicing there he often came and went. When he showed up everyone immediately sat down. At first, I thought that people were being courteous toward him. However, it wasn’t only that. It was also that the practices we were doing were different from what O-Sensei … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Kenji Shimizu – Part 1
Morito Suganuma and Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba “I show everybody the secrets everyday” What I try to keep in mind is to follow O-Sensei’s teachings and philosophy, at least my understanding and interpretation of his teachings. I want to convey what O-Sensei himself taught to Aikido students. The most important thing, as O-Sensei used to say, is don’t get injured, don’t do wrong things, and … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Morito Suganuma – Part 2
Morito Suganuma Sensei faces dueling jugglers in Hilo Hawaii – 2013 Morito Suganuma (菅沼守人) was born in Fukushima, Japan in 1942. A regional pole vaulting champion in high school, he moved on to studying Aikido with Nobuyoshi Tamura in 1963 and then entered Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1967 as one of the last uchi-deshi to train there under Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba. He is the head … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Morito Suganuma – Part 1
Yukiyoshi Sagawa and Kimura Tatsuo on the cover of Aiki News 117 – the Yukiyoshi Sagawa memorial issue I also applied techniques to Mr. Pranin when he was collecting materials for a memorial issue on Sagawa Shihan for Aiki News 117. His impression at the time was, “When I tested the small, stubborn 50-year-old Kimura Sensei, I was completely controlled by him. I attempted to … Continue reading Interview with Hiroshi Sagawa and 10th Gen Shihan Tatsuo Kimura – Part 4
Tatsuo Kimura and Seigo Yamaguchi in Karuizawa, 1968 “That was how I entered the University of Tokyo and became a formal student of Seigo Yamaguchi Sensei beginning Aikido practice at Ikenoue located next to the Komaba-Todai-mae train station. During that time, I was often with Yamaguchi Sensei all day. He would many times say that his dream was to find some method to deal with … Continue reading Interview with Hiroshi Sagawa and 10th Gen Shihan Tatsuo Kimura – Part 3