It was not possible to spread the art systematically because, unfortunately, Sokaku spent his time traveling to teach and never established any branch dojos. Sokaku Takeda was not that type of person; at that time he...
Archive - August 2002
Interview with Moriteru Ueshiba by Stanley Pranin
Originally published Fall/Winter 1999 Stanley Pranin: When did you first begin to pursue aikido with an eye to your future as inheritor of the tradition? Doshu: It was only once I’d become a university student that I...
Interview with Hitohiro Saito by Sonoko Tanaka
The following article was originally published in Aikido Journal #113 in 1998. “We must not break with the founder’s tradition just because people from abroad come here.” Hitohiro Saito (40) was born in Iwama, where he...
Interview with Seiichi Sugano by Fuyuo Nanaura and Stanley Pranin
Born in 1939 in Otaru, Hokkaido, Seiichi Sugano entered the Aikikai in 1957, becoming an uchideshi a year later. He moved to Australia in 1965 to teach aikido, and was one of the pioneers in disseminating the art...
Interview with Hiroshi Ikeda
I run an aikido dojo in Boulder, Colorado. Also, two or three weekends a month I spend doing seminars in different places all over the United States, such as California, Seattle, Montana and so on. I go to the San...
Interview with Tetsuzan Kuroda by Stanley Pranin
In the world of traditional Japanese martial arts, kata or fixed forms constitute the essence of technique and guarantee the integrity of a martial system over the course of time. Aiki News editor-in-chief Stanley...
Interview with Morihiro Saito (1991)
Aiki Shrine guardian, Morihiro Saito, began training with Morihei Ueshiba at Iwama in 1946 at the age of 18. During his years as uchideshi, Saito Sensei learned jo and sword techniques directly from the founder. In this...
Interview with Kisshomaru Ueshiba,1978: Part I
This article was prepared with the kind assistance of Jason Wotherspoon of Australia. The following interview took place on May 30, 1978 in Shinjuku, Tokyo at the home of Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. The subject of the...
Interview with Tokimune Takeda, Part 1 by Stanley Pranin
Now that the role of Daito-ryu in the development of aikido is better understood I think it likely that more aikido people will become interested in the history of the art. I would like to begin by asking you some...
Interview with Tetsuro Nariyama
Born 1947 in Yamagata Prefecture. Entered Kokushikan University in 1966. Met Kenji Tomiki there. After graduation, he devoted himself to aikido training under Tomiki and Hirokazu Kobayashi. Now teaches in the budo...