In 1957, I was studying Judo and Karate school Abbot of Budo at the " Refuge at Hillingdon, Middlesex ", a suburb of London. My teacher was Ken Williams Sensei, and we were all students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei (8° dan Judo, 6° dan Aikido, and 5° dan of Karate and Kendo). At that time, very few people in the United Kingdom had heard of Aikido.
Around 1957, Abbe said Mr. Williams, who had received a letter from O-Sensei instuctors saying that outside of Japan has given permission to teach Aikido to anyone who wanted to learn. Mr. Williams was first pupil Abbe Aikido Sensei. Eventually, the Abbe did Mr. Williams Master national coach of Aikido, and became Assistant to Mr. Williams-I stayed for about 15 years.
Abbe Aikido Sensei was the pre-war style of Aiki-Jutsu, which was very physical. Both Sensei Abbe Sensei and Williams were excellent instructors, who worked very hard for us while promoting Aikido to train audiences initially unreceptive. Abbe Sensei and Williams led eight of us until 1° dan. At the moment, we were the only votes dan in Britain, and we were all in a dojo. practice on Sunday morning was only for dan grades. Williams Sensei lock the doors of the dojo, and the actual practice seriously would begin. Williams Sensei dan degrees allow more young people to try and prove to be against him, but had no success.
Williams Sensei began to visit other dojo and introduce the ' Aikido. He was a highly respected teacher, Judo and this helped organize visits to the Judo club. Occasionally, a judo instructor would allow a few students to practice Aikido in a corner of the carpet.
In the early days, the formation was extremely difficult, with the accent on ' exercise very tiring. My students and I used to train four or five nights a week and Sunday mornings. After the ' execution for several kilometres, it would return to the carpet and run 200 push ups on the shoulders of our wrists, which we then followed up with the general practice and other practice lasts two hours.
When I was classified 1° Dan with master Abbe, Williams Sensei instructed me to take a good student as an Assistant. I chose a young man of 17 years under the name Derek Eastman, who is now 3° Dan and technical director or our office in Basingstoke. Mr. Eastman is still a faithful friend after all these years. Aikido practice in a corner of the carpet.
In the early days, the formation was extremely difficult, with the accent on ' exercise very tiring. My students and I used to train four or five nights a week and Sunday mornings. After the ' execution for several kilometres, it would return to the carpet and run 200 push ups on the shoulders of our wrists, which we then followed up with the general practice and other practice lasts two hours.
When I was classified 1° Dan with master Abbe, Williams Sensei instructed me to take a good student as an Assistant. I chose a young man of 17 years under the name Derek Eastman, who is now 3° Dan and technical director or our office in Basingstoke. Mr. Eastman is still a faithful friend after all these years.
When Mr. Eastman reached 1° Dan and I was 2° Dan, William Sensei have advised us to travel and spread the word Aikido. Both Mr. Eastman and there I quit our jobs and traveled throughout the United Kingdom. And ' was very difficult to introduce the ' Aikido, because many had never heard of. Mr. Eastman and I came out of the House and walked to the Midlands, without money or hope. We would like to visit the judo club and katate, sports centres, etc. In some areas, where sensei Williams had already introduced the ' Aikido, we would like to find an accommodation with students, and we paid a small fee for ' teaching. Where there was ', we all Aikido take jobs for a couple of days to feed ourselves. In a zone, we have worked as assistants to a firm of undertakers. We had to goto the ' morgue, collect the bodies. And bring them up to the chapel. (Once the boss caught me in the chapel of rest with a local girl that I had, that at rest.-one who was alive and well he was very angry.)
We have also worked as sweepers, wearing bowler hats that attracted a great deal of attention from the girls.
In the North of England ', the girls loved to hear the ' accent of London or the South, and this was a great help with invitations for dinner. But it was still a struggle to survive.
We have also worked in factories, steel, and had many other jobs around the country. Without doubt, the worst was repairing an old railway line. We used to call the " death railway ". Needless to say we didn't stay on the job very long.
L ' author with Sensei Nakazono, Santa Fe, NM (1991)
Yet as I look back life in Aikido, I think this was a really great time. As with all the memories, we tend to forget the bad times and remember the good. We have contributed greatly to the promotion of Aikido, and do not regret a day of it. nited Kingdom. And ' was very difficult to introduce the ' Aikido, because many had never heard of. Mr. Eastman and I came out of the House and walked to the Midlands, without money or hope. We would like to visit the judo club and katate, sports centres, etc. In some areas, where sensei Williams had already introduced the ' Aikido, we would like to find an accommodation with students, and we paid a small fee for ' teaching. Where there was ', we all Aikido take jobs for a couple of days to feed ourselves. In a zone, we have worked as assistants to a firm of undertakers. We had to goto the ' morgue, collect the bodies. And bring them up to the chapel. (Once the boss caught me in the chapel of rest with a local girl that I had, that at rest.-one who was alive and well he was very angry.)
We have also worked as sweepers, wearing bowler hats that attracted a great deal of attention from the girls.
In the North of England ', the girls loved to hear the ' accent of London or the South, and this was a great help with invitations for dinner. But it was still a struggle to survive.
We have also worked in factories, steel, and had many other jobs around the country. Without doubt, the worst was repairing an old railway line. We used to call the " death railway ". Needless to say we didn't stay on the job very long.
L ' author with Sensei Nakazono, Santa Fe, NM (1991)
Yet as I look back life in Aikido, I think this was a really great time. As with all the memories, we tend to forget the bad times and remember the good. We have contributed greatly to the promotion of Aikido, and do not regret a day of it.
Williams would all degrees Sensei Dan out to teach and demonstrate, in the hope that people will watch and listen. Our teaching is free, and this often allowed us to get free accommodation with students. Although Williams Sensei was not a particularly religious man, I remember saying: " you are my disciples, and now you must go out and teach the Gospel " Aikido.
In 60, Williams Sensei Earley called all Dan grades together and said he wanted us to participate in the longest and most important seminary until today. And ' was held in Cardiff in Wales. Demonstrations and interviews were to be televised. As usual, our structures had to be with local students. When we arrived at Cardiff Williams Sensei dojo and eight degrees Dan-all students crowded around saying: " Sensei, I stay with me? " a student politely took her arm and said: Master " I would be very glad if you could stay with me at Sunnybank Farm ". After living in London, I thought it would be a pleasure for me to stay on the farm for the weekend.
The student and I drove for miles in the wilds of rural Wales, eventually reaching a very remote farmhouse. The time seemed very cold but dry.
I woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. with hand taps and cows do what cows do to create noise. After I shook his head and realized where I was, I looked out the window. To my horror, I saw that snow had fallen and moved up to the Windows of the rooms. We were snowed for three days until a neighbor miles away we dug with a mechanical excavator. I missed the seminar and the television appearance. And ' was then that I decided to remain a city boy. sweepers, wearing bowler hats that attracted great attention from the girls.
In the North of England ', the girls loved to hear the ' accent of London or the South, and this was a great help with invitations for dinner. But it was still a struggle to survive.
We have also worked in factories, steel, and had many other jobs around the country. Without doubt, the worst was repairing an old railway line. We used to call the " death railway ". Needless to say we didn't stay on the job very long.
L ' author with Sensei Nakazono, Santa Fe, NM (1991)
Yet as I look back life in Aikido, I think this was a really great time. As with all the memories, we tend to forget the bad times and remember the good. We have contributed greatly to the promotion of Aikido, and do not regret a day of it.
Williams would all degrees Sensei Dan out to teach and demonstrate, in the hope that people will watch and listen. Our teaching is free, and this often allowed us to get free accommodation with students. Although Williams Sensei was not a particularly religious man, I remember saying: " you are my disciples, and now you must go out and teach the Gospel " Aikido.
In 60, Williams Sensei Earley called all Dan grades together and said he wanted us to participate in the longest and most important seminary until today. And ' was held in Cardiff in Wales. Demonstrations and interviews were to be televised. As usual, our structures had to be with local students. When we arrived at Cardiff Williams Sensei dojo and eight degrees Dan-all students crowded around saying: " Sensei, I stay with me? " a student politely took her arm and said: Master " I would be very glad if you could stay with me at Sunnybank Farm ". After living in London, I thought it would be a pleasure for me to stay on the farm for the weekend.
The student and I drove for miles in the wilds of rural Wales, eventually reaching a very remote farmhouse. The time seemed very cold but dry.
I woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. with hand taps and cows do what cows do to create noise. After I shook his head and realized where I was, I looked out the window. To my horror, I saw that snow had fallen and moved up to the Windows of the rooms. We were snowed for three days until a neighbor miles away we dug with a mechanical excavator. I missed the seminar and the television appearance. And ' was then that I decided to remain a city boy.
When Abbe Sensei told us that he had invited a new teacher from Japan to visit us, we were all very excited. We had never seen a Japanese Aikido teacher other then Abbe Sensei. The new master was Nakazono Sensei (then 6° Dan). Abbe Sensei told us that Nakazono Sensei teaches us for two weeks. And ' was two weeks of hell. Nakazono Sensei had practice on tatami for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, and then dan grades had to practise more three hours in the evening. During this workshop there were many broken bones and other injuries.
Abbe Sensei had taught us to be strong and not be thrown unless the technique was effective-that has proven to be strong respect for the teacher '. He also taught Uke to attack on the budget so as not to make shooting easy. As instructed, we would hit Abbe Sensei with a shinai and explain that, even if his English was not very good, the shinai spoke English fluently. So, in those early years, that was what you knew-l ' fighting art of Aikido. t was still a struggle to survive.
We have also worked in factories, steel, and had many other jobs around the country. Without doubt, the worst was repairing an old railway line. We used to call the " death railway ". Needless to say we didn't stay on the job very long.
L ' author with Sensei Nakazono, Santa Fe, NM (1991)
Yet as I look back life in Aikido, I think this was a really great time. As with all the memories, we tend to forget the bad times and remember the good. We have contributed greatly to the promotion of Aikido, and do not regret a day of it.
Williams would all degrees Sensei Dan out to teach and demonstrate, in the hope that people will watch and listen. Our teaching is free, and this often allowed us to get free accommodation with students. Although Williams Sensei was not a particularly religious man, I remember saying: " you are my disciples, and now you must go out and teach the Gospel " Aikido.
In 60, Williams Sensei Earley called all Dan grades together and said he wanted us to participate in the longest and most important seminary until today. And ' was held in Cardiff in Wales. Demonstrations and interviews were to be televised. As usual, our structures had to be with local students. When we arrived at Cardiff Williams Sensei dojo and eight degrees Dan-all students crowded around saying: " Sensei, I stay with me? " a student politely took her arm and said: Master " I would be very glad if you could stay with me at Sunnybank Farm ". After living in London, I thought it would be a pleasure for me to stay on the farm for the weekend.
The student and I drove for miles in the wilds of rural Wales, eventually reaching a very remote farmhouse. The time seemed very cold but dry.
I woke up the next morning at 5 a.m. with hand taps and cows do what cows do to create noise. After I shook his head and realized where I was, I looked out the window. To my horror, I saw that snow had fallen and moved up to the Windows of the rooms. We were snowed for three days until a neighbor miles away we dug with a mechanical excavator. I missed the seminar and the television appearance. And ' was then that I decided to remain a city boy.
When Abbe Sensei told us that he had invited a new teacher from Japan to visit us, we were all very excited. We had never seen a Japanese Aikido teacher other then Abbe Sensei. The new master was Nakazono Sensei (then 6° Dan). Abbe Sensei told us that Nakazono Sensei teaches us for two weeks. And ' was two weeks of hell. Nakazono Sensei had practice on tatami for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, and then dan grades had to practise more three hours in the evening. During this workshop there were many broken bones and other injuries.
Abbe Sensei had taught us to be strong and not be thrown unless the technique was effective-that has proven to be strong respect for the teacher '. He also taught Uke to attack on the budget so as not to make shooting easy. As instructed, we would hit Abbe Sensei with a shinai and explain that, even if his English was not very good, the shinai spoke English fluently. So, in those early years, that was what you knew-l ' fighting art of Aikido.