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 »

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 »