Yamada Sensei interview

From Aikido Sangenkai 

Q: Who was the Sempai that taught you the most?

A: That would be Kisshomaru Doshu. For that reason my Aikido is extremely basic. Into that I put the best parts of the various Sempai and included them as I could best understand them. However, at that time there was no feeling that one was being taught, you had to steal it.

Q: Steal it?

A: That’s right. While you were being thrown and acting as their partner one would gradually steal their skills and make them your own. You would try the things that you were developing in the student classes. Their age was about the same as ours and they were physically powerful, so it was a good practical exam. (laughing)

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Q: So, the locks were applied strongly?

A: Nowadays the mainstream is to throw people showily, but at that time it was mostly locking and throwing or pinning techniques – holding them down and pinning them firmly. There wasn’t anybody gently teaching you shikko (膝行) exercises back then. At that time ukemi wasn’t taught, so you would suddenly find yourself thrown onto the wooden floor and somehow you would figure out yourself how to take ukemi roundly.

Q: Did you have any problems in New York?

A: I couldn’t attract many people at first. It was the time of the Karate boom. There were Karate tournaments here and there and they let me put on demonstrations, that was really good publicity. The leftovers from Karate came over to my side. (laughing) So at the time I would put on demonstrations at least twice a week, and now I hate seeing even the first letter of the word demonstration. (laughing) Also, that was the height of the hippy movement, and a lot of lazy folks who had heard “In Aikido you don’t have to do anything, you topple them with Ki” showed up. They wouldn’t practice at all, it was really difficult. (laughing)

Q: (laughing) That was exactly during the hippy period, wasn’t it?

A: When you watched them do Kokyu-dosa they would have their partner grasp their forearms and then they would just sit there. When I said “What are you doing?” they would say “Don’t bother me, I’m extending Ki”. I just gave up. (laughing) But I never once really thought “This is too tough, I want to quit.”

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Q: What do you think is important when learning Aikido?

A: Don’t lower your own level. For that reason, steal the best parts of your Sempai, your Kohai and your Dohai. Steal, but don’t imitate. Digest them as best you can without hesitation. Anyway, it’s actually impossible to imitate other people, because the are different people. I think that’s why O-Sensei thought “It’s no good if I teach you”, even while he was teaching. In the end, if the person is different than the quality of their Aikido will be different. That is the beauty of Aikido, and its lot. In that sense, there is nobody who is doing O-Sensei’s Aikido. Real Aikido was just O-Sensei. The rest is just make-believe. (laughing)

Q: When we think about it this way, do you think that it was a good thing that Aikido changed in Kisshomaru Doshu’s era?

A: Yes, I think so. Doshu’s Aikido was very pure. That’s why I believe that it is a good starting point for aiming to reach the peak of that giant mountain called Aikido. After that you just have to find the way on your own. For that reason, you must train in way that is not collusive.

Q: Yes.

A: Once again, O-Sensei’s techniques were Divine Works (神業). The techniques were part of it, but also that he gave such a wonderful thing to so many people’s lives. I am truly grateful for this.

Interview with Yamada Sensei