Hanami geiko

Aikido Sword

Today I spent several hours in the company of some really nice people; all serious budoka and dedicated to their chosen art: Aikido. The cherry blossom trees along the river bank just outside the dojo are in full bloom this time of year, and after four days of hard training it is a relief for everyone to relax under a canopy of sakura, eat lots of sushi, and consume generous amounts of warm saki, and cold beer. I was there to catch up with old friends, and do a little magazine work at the same time.

I have to say, I never come away from my aikido friends without feeling a little regret. I regret that it's so hard to find karate people these days with the same enthusiasm for their training. I regret that the level of respect shown to each other in aikido is now quiet rare in karate. And I regret that many of those teaching karate feel they have a right to make money, while all the sensei I know in aikido teach free of charge.

Many years ago I had quite a low opinion of aikido, but not since I felt the grip of the late Seiichi Sugano sensei of the New York Aikikai. If ever I thought aikido was for wimps, I had my thinking drastically altered that day. Tomorrow morning I have a 200 km drive to the State Capital to meet with Hirokazu Kanazawa sensei. I haven't seen him for about twelve years, so I'm looking forward to spending a couple of days in his company again.