Josh GoldDuring my recent vacation, Aikido Journal published “Morihei Ueshiba and Minoru Mochizuki” by Stanley Pranin. Master Mochizuki founded Budo Yoseikan. Coincidentally, I saw Budo Yoseikan’s dojo in Torrance, CA, where my wife and I were visiting. I stopped in and found Patrick Augé Sensei Shihan, who had studied with Master Mochizuki, teaching a children’s class. He was kind enough to speak to me after class, and I explained that I was visiting from North Carolina, where I study aikido, and asked if I could attend one of his classes while I was in town. He agreed and even offered a gi since I had not packed mine.
A few days later, I returned for the class. I was a bit early, so I had another chance to watch Augé Sensei teaching a children’s class. Beyond technique, he taught the importance of values such as respect, obedience to parents, and keeping promises.
I had the privilege of receiving instruction from Augé Sensei and training with Josh and Ken, two of his senior students. From what I saw of them, Josh and Ken are talented senseis in their own rights.
The class was an excellent experience. Augé Sensei, Josh, and Ken exhibited impressive knowledge and technique. Budo Yoseikan employs judo-based pins, which were new to me, so the mat work was quite interesting. We also did tanto tori, which was more familiar to me, although there were some variations from what I am used to. In addition to learning, I got a vigorous workout, which was sorely needed after eating my way through our vacation.
The friendliness and welcoming attitude at Budo Yoseikan were just as impressive as the quality of the instruction. I had a very informative conversation with Augé Sensei. I greatly appreciate his willingness to allow a visitor to participate in class. We do this at my dojo, Musha Dojo in Fayetteville, NC, and we have found that if the hosts and the visitors share an attitude of mutual respect, without interference from egos, it can be a great learning experience for those at the dojo, as well as for the visitors. This should be commonplace at dojos, and martial artists should expand their experiences by visiting other dojos. I hope to make these visits more often in the future, and I hope that I can return to Budo Yoseikan on my next trip to Torrance. Thank you again, Augé Sensei, Josh, and Ken.
Yoseikan Budo is a excellent way for you MMA types to go and experience a Sogo Budo at it’s best.
Of course a little more here…
https://aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=84
Quote “AIKI NEWS: When did Mochizuki Sensei actually perfect his Yosekian system and what were its main features?
Augé: I don’t know exactly when it happened, but he said that when he was in Europe, he was challenged several times and was exposed to different martial arts and sports. Then he found out that he could switch naturally from one martial art to the other. He also said that he felt that aikido as he had learned it was lacking in effectiveness, but the taisabaki were good for entering inside the opponents’ guard so he could then apply variations and techniques from other martial arts. Mochizuki Sensei told us that when he went back to Japan, he talked to Ueshiba Sensei about the necessity of adapting the art to modern fighting systems that use punches and kicks, such as French savate and karate. However, Ueshiba Sensei did not show any concern for such things and Mochizuki Sensei decided to do it by himself.”