The following selection from the Japanese-language autobiography entitled “Aikido Jinsei” (An Aikido Life) by Gozo Shioda Sensei of Yoshinkan Aikido is published with the kind permission of the author and...
Archive - April 2003
An Aikido Life, by Gozo Shioda: Part V
Of course it is important to conduct Aikido training in a dojo where you accumulate practice time in order to master techniques. There is a saying of Sogen Zenshi (priest of the Rinsaishu religion of the late Kamakura...
Sumo champion Tenryu and Morihei Ueshiba by Stanley Pranin
“I thought that this old man was talking nonsense and slapped his hand down as I grabbed it. But the moment I touched him I was startled. I felt as if I had taken hold of an iron bar!” Tenryu entered the...
An Aikido Life, by Gozo Shioda: Part VI
The following translation from the Japanese-language autobiography entitled “Aikido Jinsei” (An Aikido Life) by Gozo Shioda Sensei of Yoshinkan Aikido is published with the kind permission of the author and...
Interview with Kisshomaru Ueshiba: The Early Days of Aikido
It seems that he went to Tokyo depending on the support of the Inoues. I’m referring to a relative of Mr. Noriaki Inoue in Tanabe. Shortly after coming to Tokyo my father suffered from beriberi. So he didn’t...
Interview with Swordmaster: Kiyoshi Nakakura, Part 2 by Stanley Pranin
This is the second of a two-part interview with Kiyoshi Nakakura Sensei, 9th dan hanshi in both Kendo and Iaido and one of Japan’s top swordsmen. It was conducted on December 23, 1987 by Editor Stanley Pranin at the...
Interview with Gozo Shioda
Gozo Shioda, founder of the Yoshinkan style of aikido, began training in 1932, at the age of seventeen. Sixty years later he heads a unique international aikido organization whose aim is global harmony through the...
Interview with Mitsugi Saotome: Part 2
In this second of two parts, Aikido Schools of Ueshiba founder Mitsugi Saotome continues with a discussion of his approach to training and the role of aikido as self-defense, outlines his dreams for an “Aikido...
Interview with David Lynch, Part 2
New Zealander David Lynch has practiced a variety of aikido styles, including Yoshinkan, Ki no Kenkyukai, Aikikai, and Tendo-ryu. In this second part, Lynch discusses the rationale behind his rankless dojo and eclectic...
Interview with David Lynch, Part 1
Thirty years ago New Zealander David Lynch entered the Yoshinkan dojo as a live-in student Since then he has practiced a variety of styles under a number of different instructors, including Koichi Tohei Sensei of the Ki...