Acknowledgements

To give you a better understanding about where my inspiration about Aiki and Aikido was and still is coming from, I'd like to share the names of those Aikido folks who influenced and inspired me the most along my Aikido journey.

When I started Aikido, of course I first looked up to my senseis at our Aikido school and soon enough I learned about their senseis too.

Besides the Ueshiba family I heard the names like Nobuyoshi Tamura, Seishiro Endo, Hiroshi Tada, Kazuo Chiba, Mitsugi Saotome, Seigo Yamaguchi, Hiroshi Ikeda, Frank Doran, Dan Messisco, Gérard Blaize, Michio Hikitsuchi, Koichi Tohei, Kenjiro Yoshigasaki, Kanshu Sunadomari, Itsuo Tsuda, Nobuyuki Watanabe, Yoshinobu Takeda, Motomichi Anno, Masahilo Nakazono, Kisaburo Osawa (all names given in no particular order).

 

"With some of these senseis
I ended up attending some
of their seminars, with
other's I didn't"

 

With some of these senseis I ended up attending some of their seminars, with other's I didn't. There are a lot of memories and thoughts about all those great senseis, of whom many already have passed away leaving their big imprints on many Aikido practitioners all around the world. 

More than anybody, I would like to thank my teachers, as it seems, they gave me the right instructions and the right hints so that I was able to look for things in the right directions. My deepest thanks here go to my sensei Gérard Blaize and also to his main students Daniel Champeimont and Jean-Marc Martin. Also I'd like to thank Jakob Spälti, who for many years was the owner and main teacher of our small Aikido club, the Aikido-Atelier, for letting me teach classes, which certainly helped me a great deal by pushing myself to analyze and find a better understanding of the Aikido and techniques I teach in classes.

 

"Their work being accessible
to everyone, just made the basis
for my own studies"

 

Some of the senseis mentioned above have also published referential books and iconic essays about Aikido and Aikido related topics. Besides them, I also want to thank people the likes as Stanley Pranin, John Stevens, Hideo Takahashi, Masahisa Goi, Bruno Travesi, Christopher Li, Birgit Staemmler, Linda Holiday, William Gleason, Henry Kono, Tatsuo Kimura, Kozo Nishino, Hiroyuki Aoki, Haruyoshi Fugaku Ito, Peter Goldsbury, Allen Dean Beebe, Ellis Amdur, Guillaume Erard, Urs Keller and others who have done such incredible works in Aikido and Aiki related research and have their works published in various ways. Their work being accessible to the public, just made the basis for my own studies and gaining my own insights on various topics related to Aiki and Aikido.

And last but not least I want to thank my training partners and also my students who over all those years, some more than others, have shown their patience with me. I am truly grateful to everyone involved at one point or another, helping me in one way or another. 

Thanks everybody!!

Page first published on 11.09.2023
Page last updated on 18.07.2024

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Disclaimer: everything presented in this post only represents my personal opinions based on my personal  knowledge, understanding and experiences made regarding the matter in discussion except where quotes are made. Other opinions are highly respected as long as they can withstand the argumentation. Some of the points presented may be purely speculative on my side due to the lack of evidence known to me. Any evidence presented to help clarify the points in question is highly welcomed. The post may still undergo little changes, although the content will mainly remain the same.

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