Yoga Cardiff

The memories of the First Days of Aikido in Great Britain

By Henry Ellis - the School of Aikido of Ellis

In 1957, I studied Judo and Karate to the School of Abbe of Budo to the "Hut" in Hillingdon, Middlesex, a suburbs of London. My professor was the Ken Williams Sensei, and we were all students of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei (eighth Dan in the Judo, sixth Dan in Aikido, and fifth Dan in Karate and Kendo). At that very moment, very few people in the United Kingdom had heard about Aikido.

Around 1957, Abbe Sensei said M Williams that it had recieved a letter of the word of o-sensei that the exterior one of instuctors of Japan had the permission to teach Aikido to whoever wished to learn it. M Williams was Abbe Sensei the first student of Aikido. Finally, Abbe Sensei did M Williams the National Trainer for Aikido, and I became M helps Williams - that I remained for roughly 15 years.

Abbe Sensei Aikido was the style prewar period of aiki-jutsu, that was very physical. Abbe Sensei and Williams Sensei were excellent professors, that worked very hard to induce us while to promote Aikido to an at first public not receptive. Abbe Sensei and Williams brought eight of us until first Dan. To the time, we were the only degrees of Dan in Great Britain, and we all were in a dojo. The practice of Sunday morning was for the degrees of Dan only. Williams Sensei verrouillerait the doors to the dojo, and the true serious practice would begin. Williams Sensei would allow the youngest degrees of Dan to try and prove against him, but they had not success.

Williams Sensei began visiting other dojos and introduce Aikido. It was a professor extremely of respected Judo, and this helped it to arrange visits to Judo clubs. Of time in time, an instructor of Judo would allow some students to practice Aikido in a rug corner.

In the first days, training was extremely difficult with the accent on the very energetic exercise. My students and I induced four or five nights by the week just like by Sunday morning. After being candidate to several miles, we would return to the rug and execute 200 pump on the backs of our wrists, that we followed then with the general practice and an ampler two hours of practice lasts.

When I was classified first Dan by Abbe Sensei, Williams Sensei instructed me to take a voucher studying as an assistance. I chose a young man of 17 years major by the name of Derek Eastman, that is now third Dan and the Technical Director or our principal Seat of Basingstoke. M Eastman always is a loyal friend after all these years.

When M Eastman attained first Dan and I was second Dan, William Sensei counseled us to travel and spread the word of Aikido. The two M Eastman and I renounced our jobs and traveled around the United Kingdom. The it was very difficult to introduce Aikido, because most of the people never had heard about him.
M Eastman and I left for the house and directed me towards the Region of the Midlands without the a lot of monies or the hope. We would visit Judo and Katate clubs, the athletic centers, etc. In some sectors, where Williams sensei had already introduced Aikido, we would find the arrangement with the students, and we would have paid a small expenses to teach. Where there was not Aikido to all, we would take jobs for some days to nourish itself. In a sector, we worked as the assistance to an undertaker. We had goto morgue, collect the bodies. And to take them upto the chapel. (Once the employer took me in the rest chapel with a young local girl that I put to rest - the one that was living and well. It was very upset).

We worked also as the road brooms, carrying hats melons that attracted a lot of attentions of the girls.

In the to the north of England, the girls liked to hear the London or the south accent, and this was a big assistance with the invitations for the dinner. But the it was always a fight to survive.

We worked also in the factories in steel and had a lot of other jobs around the country. Doubtless, the worse one repaired an old iron way. We called it the "the iron way of death". Useless to say, we did not remain on this work very a long time.

The author with Nakazono Sensei, Santa Fe, NM (1991)

Always as I look at behind on the life in Aikido, I think that this is was a really big time. As with all memories, we tend to forget that bad weather and recalls the voucher. We contributed strong to the promotion of Aikido, and I do not regret a day of him.

Williams Sensei would do go out all the degrees of Dan out to teach and show in the hope that the people would look at us and we listen. Our teaching was free, and this often we returned able to obtain free arrangement with the students. Although Williams Sensei was not a notably religious man, I recall the saying, "You are my disciples, and now you must go out and must teach the gospel of Aikido".

In the earley 60's, Williams Sensei called all the degrees of Dan and said together that it wanted to attend us the longest and most of important seminary to date. The it was to be held in Cardiff to country of Wales. The demonstrations and discussions should televise.
As usual, our housing should be with the local students. When we arrived to the Cardiff dojo - Williams Sensei and eight degrees of Dan - all the students cluttered around the word, "Sensei, you would remain please with me"? A student politely took my arm and said, "Sensei I would be very happy if you would remain with me to the Farm of Sunnybank". After living in London, I thought the this would be a big pleasure for me to remain at the farm for the weekend.
The student and I drove for the miles in the wild one of country of rural Wales, arriving finally to a very removed farm. The time seemed very cold but dry.
I am awakened the next day morning to 5AM with the roosters coquerique and the cows doing although the cows do to create noise. After I shock my head and went counts where I was, I looked at by the window. To my horror, I saw that the snow had fallen and had diverted to right until the bedroom windows.
We were snowed in for three days until a neighbor of the miles dug up ourselves far with a mechanical excavator. I lacked the seminary and the television appearance. The it was while I have resolved to remain a city boy.

When Abbe Sensei said us that it had invited a new professor of Japan to visit us, we completely all were excited. We never had seen an Aikido of other professional Japanese then Abbe Sensei.
The new professor was Nakazono Sensei (then sixth Dan). Abbe Sensei said us that Nakazono Sensei would teach to us for two weeks. The it was two weeks of hell. Nakazono Sensei had practicing us on the rug for three hours in the morning and three hours of the afternoon, and then the degrees of Dan had the practice an additional three hours in evenings. During this seminary there were a lot of bones injuries broken and other.
Abbe Sensei had taught us to be sturdy and is not launched unless the technique was effective - that is sturdy the showed respect for your professor. It taught also United Kingdom to attack on the balance does for not the launch to easy. As it taught, Abbe Sensei would hit us with a shinai and explains that, while his English was not very good, the shinai spoke the English often. Then, in these early years, that was that we knew - the strong art of fight of Aikido
First, when Nakazono Sensei saw how we practiced, it was angry with us and perplexed left. It did not understand. But, at the end of the seminary, Abbe Sensei explained why we were the manner that we were. Then Nakazono Sensei went counts that we were authentic students with the big respect for him and a strong desire to learn.
In England, after a practice lasts, the it is traditional to finish evenings with a pint of beer to the local pub. But Nakazono Sensei kept us on the rug until 10 in the evening, and the pubs closed to 10:30pm. If Williams Sensei said me, "Ellis, as my assistance, the this is your duty to ask Sensei if we can leave the rug to 9 in the evening if we can have the time to arrive to the pub". I asked Nakazono Sensei (which an idiot I was!), and it gets angry. It said that it had traveled through the world to teach us Aikido and that all wanted us to do had gone to the pub. What it did not seem to understand was that this was our work vacation. (I recalled Nakazono Sensei of this incident when we met later in Santa Fe, and we should laugh of him).

In 1963, I was the assistance of Sansei of Nakazono to an art martial national demonstration to the Lobby of Royal Albert to London. That was a moment to trust for me, and also for my parents, as this was the first one they never had seen me in a demonstration of Aikido.

There was a vast difference between Abbe Sensei old Aikido of style and Nakazono Sensei the new style, that far more flowed. The new manner seemed as much of more soft and nevertheless very strong one.
We adapted quickly to this new style. Then Abbe Sensei has fallen a "bomb" on us: we would have all are reclassified to meet the current norms of Hombu Dojo. To classify it was physical and mentally asks it. To his end, Abbe Sensei clothed all the eight degrees of Dan on and said that it accepted our rows - with the exception of the one. It looked at that the one for an eternal moment and said, "the Necessary sale your gi while the price is high". Even after 37 years, I did not forget this sentence. Abbe Sensei took that the students classify.

In the first 1960 that I was asked to direct a demonstration of Aikido to the Championships of Judo of National one of Counsel of British Judo to London. Among the VIPs were service the Japanese Ambassador and the Lady Baden Powell, the woman of Lord Baden Powell, that was then the head of the World-wide Organization of Scouts of Boy. Kenshiro Abbe and Otani Sensei underlined how important tonight was and that they wanted an impressive exposition of the people of Aikido.
While we awaited to continue, a man of Judo brought up to Otani Sensei that spoke with the Japanese Ambassador, and said, "Hed, Smiler". I could not believe irreverence, and took the man to a side. We had a conflict when Derek Eastman, that was outside smoking a cigarette, said me that we had had on the step immediately. We hurried on the step.
As I executed the first technique, the first cigarettes of first Mr.Eastman and the games have fallen of his gi on the step. I was already disturbed incident with the man of Judo, and now the difficulty! I crushed M Eastman everywhere in the tatami and of return again.
Later, when we did a knife technique with a blade in life that the knife crossed my gi and I felt the cold blade against my stomach. I thought, "My God, the this is in me"! I have fallen on my knees with M Eastman in an immobilization, and I looked at down below to the front row. To look for to me with the shock and to the horror was his Madam. I knew by the look on his face that any hopes we had of his Aikido subsidizing were on.
After the exposition, his Madam said, "That was the exposition more atrocious of violence than I never observed".
The Japanese ambassador congratulated us on an excellent demonstration. (On the inspection, I realized that the blade had grazed me only).

Abbe Sensei brought Paris a fifth young Dan, Noro Sensei - the first sensei that we had seen in a white hakama. Noro Sensei was maybe the most graceful one of all the professors than I never saw to date.
Then followed there a lot of other professors: Tada Sensei, Hishomura Sensei, Tadashi Abbe Sensei, Tamura Sensei and Chiba Sensei. I was with Chiba Sensei for several years.

Chiba Sensei and I taught Aikido in a dojo To The newspaper of Time to London. We were asked to participate in a transmission of 30 minutes on the BBC radio world-wide. Sensei asked me to do the whole conversation because, to the time his English was not very good. A television producer that had heard the transmission asked if we would do a demonstration on Anglican TV. We consented.
While we awaited our slash to the TV, we were taken to a hospitality piece, where the had almost any drink that you can imagine. The hostess asked if we would like the drinks. I thought a Ray of Jim descends well, and I said, "Sensei can we have a drink"? "Yes," it replied, but before I can ordered my Ray of Jim it ordered two orange juices.

Certain of the Aikido that I saw the latter years me depression because it only can be done by two Aikidoists that practices together uniformly - as a pair of dancers that knows every others move themselves. But the style of Sensei of Chiba of Aikido is effective. If I wanted the Yoga, I would study; if I wanted the dance, I would take lesson dansees. I believe that Aikido must appears not only good, but also to be effective.

Once I must will see Abbe Sensei to his apartment in Acton, London. (It divided a house with Otani Sensei, a seventh Dan in the Judo, and his son Tomio Otani, a good friend of expression that was the national trainer for Kendo).
The house was as a museum of martial arts with the armors, as the swords, and as the others arm dispersed about.

Childhood, the sports was one of my big loves. But the one sport that I cannot look at is our English game of grillon. If you can imagine my disappointment when I came to the house and to Abbe Sensei found, That I looked at almost as a god, looking at the grillon, "The World Championship". The windows were the birds and the open and small pigeons flew around the piece.
Carefully to choose my words, I said, "Sensei, I did not realize that you liked the grillon".
"I don't," it said. "I look at this to bother, the stupid game everyday, and always not to understand it".
It said then very true something: "They call it the World Championship, but it only is played in the countries that Great Britain conquered".

Finally, Williams Sensei, that I believe the better Aikidoist than the United Kingdom never produced, began to student Ki Aikido with Tohei Sensei while a group to while I belong remained traditional.

Williams Sensei strictly checked Aikido in the United Kingdom for roughly 15 years. Person would begin a dojo or takes a seminary without the consultation with him first. But Aikido grew now far beyond our first hopes, and a lot of factors broke special unity of degrees of Dan that existed once.

I politically was not had objections in the old days, and I did not change. Sometimes studying them me telephone and asks what I conceives practiceor which the organization I belong to. Before they say me their fidelity, I say just, "if you practice Aikido, you are more than welcomes to attend our dojo".

On my next visit to the United States, I hope to visit Alaska. The secretary of the School of Ellis of Traditional Aikido (ESTER) in Alamogordo, Mrs Assistance Prazak, transferred to center North in Alaska, with his husband, that is captain Airs to the United States Forces it, and she hopes to open a school of Aikido in the sector in the close future.
Whan I was last to the United States, I taught again Mexico to the University of Paso of El, where I recieved a same warm welcome. I taught also to Roswell the Academy and Military Holloman Air the Basis of Force.
What is this when I last saw Nakazono Sensei it asked, "you done now"? I said it how the things were. It said, "Henry, you think that you are only 20 major years. You should slow down. You are an old man". But, if I abstain from look in the mirror, I can continue to claim I am a young man in the heart and the spirit - thanks to a life of Aikido.