Ryuji Shirakawa was born on 4th September 1980 and started aikido at 15 years. He lived in Kobayashi’s Dojo as an uchi-deshi, traveled to Germany to learn under Katsuaki Asai Sensei, lived in Calgary Aikikai, Canada as an uchi-deshi. But let’s make it fare right from the start…
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Nobuyuki Watanabe (July 25, 1930 – August 20, 2019) was born in the Miyazaki Prefecture. Sumo was the first Budo on his way and at secondary school, he started Judo. He also made Jukenjutsu but really liked and considered Judo to be the best martial art possible before he got thrown with the Shiho-Nage…
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Nobuyoshi Tamura (2 March 1933 – 9 July 2010) was an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan. He was advised by the Seigo Yamaguchi to become an uchi-deshi in Hombu which he did on August 5, 1952, in the times of a founder, Morihei Ueshiba. Nobuyoshi ended up as one of his favorite pupils and ukes.
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We’ve met Morito Suganuma Shihan earlier on the site in a post with the warm-ups but he really deserves more… He was born on July 27, 1942, in Fukushima, Japan. He knew about the Aikido from an early age and heard about O-Sensei a few times but only at Asia University in Tokyo, he was able to join a Nobuyoshi Tamura‘s Aikido class. He continued at the Hombu Dojo, where future Sensei was surrounded by the greats with the Morihei Ueshiba as in charge.
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Yukimitsu Kobayashi was born on 15 April 1960. He is a 7 Dan Aikido Aikikai Hombu Dojo Shihan.
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Shoji Nishio (December 5, 1927 – March 15, 2005) was an 8 Dan Aikikai Shihan. He was one of Morihei Ueshiba’s post-war-era students in the Hombu.
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Piotr Masztalerz studies Aikido since 1988. He’s a 6 Dan Aikido Birankai Shidoin based in Poland. For those who don’t know Birankai is an association of Aikido Practitioners and Dojos founded by T. K. Chiba Shihan, forged by rigorous training, tempered by mutual respect, and committed to the relentless pursuit of the art.
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Ikuhiro Kubota was born on June 19, 1943, in Kashihara, Nara, Japan. He is 8th Dan Aikido Aikikai and one of the biggest masters of the time in Japan. His main teacher and aikido-friend is Hiroshi Tada.
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Christian Tissier gave an interview for the SFR Sport Kombat which is a French TV channel about the Martial Arts, MMA and everything related. The interview is originally in French, Tissier’s native language and a translation to English is inside the post, hop in. The interview was taken by Lucie Bertaud.
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Kisaburo Osawa (1910 – May 28, 1991) was one of the first 9 Dan Holders and has been a great inspiration for the deshi’s he was teaching in the Hombu Dojo for many years.
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Tsuruzo Miyamoto was born on March 30, 1953, on the island of Kyushu, Japan. He is an 8 Dan and one of the most respected Hombu Shihans at the moment.
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Jiro Kimura is an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan. He is in charge of the Osaka Buikukai that is considered to be one of the biggest organizations affiliated to the Aikikai.
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If you ever tried to find some good educational videos about ukemi there’s a good chance that you stopped looking right when Donovan Waite “Meeting the Mat” explanations were found. You may get no idea why it’s attractive but you will get the feeling that everything should work just like that because of the softness and smoothness of the moves.
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Christian Tissier was born on February 7, 1951, in Paris, France. He began aikido at the age of 11 under the Jean-Claude Tavernier in his native city and soon on moved to train under the Mutsuro Nakazono, 7 Dan Aikido Aikikai. In 1968 Christian received a 2nd Dan from Nakazono Sensei and made a plan to go to Japan after.
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Yoko Okamoto holds a rank of a 6th Dan in Aikido Aikikai, a status of Shihan. She is the most respected female-Sensei in Aikido and is very important in Japan.
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An interview was taken on June 9, 2018, during a seminar with the Shihan at Chisinau, Moldova. Hiroyuki Sakurai held 6 Dan at the time. During the 2020 Kagamibiraki ceremony, Sensei received 7th Dan from the Aikikai.
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Ulf Evenas Shihan was born on 3 November 1946 in Trollhattan, Sweden. His Budo way began with a Kyokushin Karate but soon after, in 1968, he switched to Aikido which he studied under Carl Hansson in Gothenburg who had a background in Judo, Ju-Jitsu.
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Minoru Kanetsuka (December 8, 1939 – March 8, 2019) was the official representative of the Aikikai in the United Kingdom since 1978. He had a big influence on Aikido in the West Europe as a Japanese master teaching the art abroad.
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Hayato Osawa is an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan. He is a son of the Kisaburo Osawa and one of the main instructors at Hombu just as his father was.
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Masando Sasaki (February 1, 1929 – February 15, 2013) – was an 8 Dan Aikido Aikikai Shihan and a Shinto priest. Was an Otomo for the O-Sensei and been teaching in the Hombu Dojo.
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