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
Josh GoldAn 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 Noriaki Inoue, Part 4
The interview below with Noriaki (Yoichiro) Inoue, nephew of Aikido Founder Morihei Ueshiba, was conducted by Stanley Pranin in 1988. Inoue Sensei’s testimony on the early days of aikido is an extremely valuable...
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...
Mainline Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Revisited
The art of Daito-ryu has recently become a topic of discussion among certain circles of budo practitioners. Along with the endless debates generally found in such circles, discussions of late have placed much importance...
Interview with Dr. Ah Loi Lee
Dr. Lee is an outstanding figure among Tomiki Aikido practitioners outside of Japan; not only does she bring firsthand experience with both Tomiki Sensei and Ohba Sensei to her aikido, but she is also able to...
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...