Tag Archives: ueshiba

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Yasuo Kobayashi – Part 1

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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, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Kenji Shimizu – Part 2

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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 »

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Kenji Shimizu – Part 1

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Kenji Shimizu - 2007

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 »

Essay, Translation

Mamoru Okada – Training with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba

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Mamoru Okada Sensei

Mamoru Okada Sensei (岡田主), 1921-2014 This is another of a type of essay that I really enjoy reading – memories of meeting and training with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba from the perspective of ordinary students. In this essay Mamoru Okada recounts his memories of meeting Morihei Ueshiba in Osaka in 1949, after seeing him at a public demonstration held for members of the Nishi Health System. Interestingly, it … Continue reading Mamoru Okada – Training with Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba »

Essay

Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual

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Gozo Shioda and Morihei Ueshiba

Ushiro technique – Gozo Shioda and Morihei Ueshiba in “Budo”, 1938 First there was “Budo Renshu” (武道練習) in 1933 (published in English under the name “Budo Training in Aikido“), which was given to select students at Moritaka Ueshiba’s pre-war Kobukan Dojo as a teaching license. This work includes pictures of techniques hand drawn by Takako Kunigoshi and explanatory text assembled and edited primarily by Kenji Tomiki. … Continue reading Budo – Moritaka Ueshiba’s 1938 Technical Manual »