Ueshiba sensei said, “Aikido is 95% perspiration and 5% philosophy.” By saying that, I have said everything.” (A. NOCQUET) It has happened to the art that I love. I suppose that it has happened for quite a while now, but it took a lot of time to actually understand how this came about. I was […]
I have been away with the kids up the north east and have had far too much time on my hands walking on beaches thinking about Aikido, and more importantly, thinking about my role and the future of the art. Now inevitably, thinking about the future of the art brings us to a point where […]
There are very deep philosophical principles hidden in the art of Aikido. These principles aren’t discovered by the Ancient Greek version of philosophical debate, but rather discovered in the forging of the physical body, through hard work and tenacity. Anyone can endorse a Japanese philosophical idea, anyone can claim to have a Japanese sword master […]
Relax!!!! How many times have we heard this said by any […]
“To become poisoned by secret teachings is something that occurs in Aikido as well. Instead of looking at their feet (“The feet reveal the secrets of the universe.”Morihei Ueshiba), people look up and imitate sophisticated movements in a pretentious, empty manner. That is called “to be poisoned by secret teachings”. This is quite rife in […]
How my time in Ki Society helps me understand Yuishinkai Soren’s recent Post reminded me of some things I saw, heard and was told in Japan whilst training with Tohei Sensei and the Shihans of Ki Society for 22 years. The reason for this post is that some of the information from my time with […]
In recent times there has been much debate around training style and focus within the organisation. I will share with you how we trained in the early days and why I believe every practitioner should train this way for at least some part of their learning. It is important to be explain my current […]
I came to Aikido after 4 seasons of professional sport, I had decided I wanted to be an athlete at the age of 14. I was lucky in that I had grown up getting used to hard work as my family had a small hobby farm, and being the eldest boy, my non school hours […]
Important Update on the next Australian annual seminar with Maruyama Sensei. After a lot of discussion about the alternatives and their pros and cons Sensei has agreed that the seminar will be in Tokyo rather than Hobart. Whether it is the third week of January 2019 or the April 2019 school holidays will be decided […]
During the seminar in the UK this year sensei talked about the importance of developing Ki-Gata. Recently I have been reading a lot of the founders lectures on Aikido and am truly astounded that the truth of what sensei is teaching us has been in plain sight for such a long time. Of course, over […]