Some
stories of those that went
before - Saito Sensei
This
was written by me (Simon
Thackeray of White Oak
Aikido Reading) without any
intention to make any claims
as to accuracy or it being
any version of a 'complete
and true' UK Aikido history.
It is based on my own
memories of events, written
information that I have and
my memory of what I have
been told. Lots of Aikido
people and lots of Aikido
events have been omitted
because this is only about
people and events that
interacted with my own
development in Aikido and
that of White Oak Aikido and
Reading University Aikido,
so it is all very much
written from my own
perspective and only
includes what I want to and
what I remember right now as
I write it. However, if you
think anything is seriously
inaccurate as opposed to
being omitted, then please
let me know! Or go to Aikido
training in Reading
today.
Saito Sensei
was a close student of O
Sensei at the Iwama Aikido
dojo for some 24 years. He
codified and spread the
Iwama style of Aikido and
particularly the weapons
system, through seminars,
books and films.
Saito
Sensei and UK Aikido
In about
1981, Hamish
McFarlane, a senior
4th dan, went Iwama to gain
a deeper insight into Saito
Sensei's Aikido. On his
return, Haydn
Foster Sensei
incorporated more weapons
training into his teaching
and introduced strong,
static technique as the
basic starting point for his
Aikido. McFarlane
Sensei was to return to
Iwama again (possibly in
1985?), which reinforced the
Iwama influence.
In
1985, Saito Sensei
came to the UK to give two
five day seminars, one at
Brunel University and one at
the National Scottish Sports
Centre in Largs.
Group photo
at the Saito Sensei course
in Largs in 1985
Saito Sensei
visited the UK twice more,
coming to Cambridge in 1989
and Birmingham in 1994.
Saito
Sensei's Influence on
White Oak Aikido and
Reading University Aikido
I have
trained for some 26 days
at Aikido seminars with
Saito Sensei (Brunel 1985,
Largs 1985, Fiesch 1987,
Fiesch 1988, Cambridge
1989, Birmingham 1994 and
Paris 2000), as well as
with many Iwama style
teachers including Takeji
Tomita (including his
course at the Hut in 1985,
prior to Saito Sensei's UK
seminars), Hitohiro Saito
and Patricia Hendricks.
The weapons system and
much of the body technique
taught at White Oak Aikido
Reading, which is not
purely received from my
Sensei, Haydn
Foster Sensei, is
strongly influenced by the
Iwama style of Aikido of
Saito Sensei.
The UK
group at the Saito
Sensei course in Paris
in 2000
I have
also attended Aikido
seminars with many other
significant teachers all
of whom have influenced my
Aikido. These include
(certainly not an
exhaustive list and in no
particular order):
Nobuyoshi Tamura, Donovan
Waite, Bill Smith, Hiroshi
Ikeda, Frank Doran, Bob
Nadeau, Julio Toribio,
Yoshimitsu Yamada,
Christian Tissier, Yasou
Kobayashi, Hiroaki
Kobayashi and Osamu Obata.
This video was shot at the
Aikido seminar given by
Saito Sensei in Cambridge
in 1989. A short preview
from the approximately 440
minutes of video that was
shot at the seminar.
Watch
our Aikido video
here!
Not
what you'll be doing
when you start, but
sometimes our more
senior grades like to
show off a bit!
Find out
more about getting
involved in the
martial art of
Aikido in Whitton
and Aikido in
Reading:
Home page
of White
Oak Aikido UK Info
for Beginners
- some more
details about Aikido and
what to expect if you come
along to either our
Reading or Whitton dojos.
Or
please Contact
us if you have any
questions about Aikido
classes in Reading or
Whitton.
