This interview with Yoon Dae-hyun Sensei, the founder and president of the Korea Aikido Federation, was conducted during the organization's 30th anniversary celebration. Mihaly Dobroka and I were invited, along with Igarashi Kazuo Shihan, Takimoto Seizo Shihan, to give a class and a demonstration during that milestone weekend. I took the opportunity to ask Yoon Sensei to walk us through his martial arts background, and addresses controversial aspects of Korean and Japanese martial arts history, including the confused relationship between Korean Hapkido and Japanese Aikido, mythical figures like Shinra Saburo, and historical connections between key figures like Choi Yongseol and Ueshiba Morihei, while exploring the challenges of introducing Japanese martial arts in Korea and how Aikido's philosophy of peace and harmony offers solutions to modern social challenges.

It was in the particular atmosphere of Cercle Tissier that I had the chance to speak with Bruno Gonzalez. Christian Tissier's successor at the head of aikido classes at the Cercle, Bruno has over thirty-seven years of martial research behind him. His journey, punctuated by explorations in disciplines as varied as theater, Iyengar yoga, systema, or even bullfighting, testifies to a permanent quest to understand the principles that govern movement and relationship with others. During this summer meeting, we discussed his vision of contemporary aikido, the challenges of transmission in a changing world, and this transversal approach that leads him to weave links between apparently distant arts. A rich conversation that reveals a teacher driven by a true researcher's spirit.

When I opened my own dojo in 2019, in the midst of the pandemic, the Takeda family were the first people to contact me and offer some help, especially in regard to spreading the word about the dojo and including us in the local Aikido scene. Thanks to their help, the dojo could survive the pandemic and we have enjoyed a wonderful relationship ever since. As importantly, at a time of uncertainty and unavoidable frustration associated with trying to create something, I found Takeda Shihan's open approach to life, good, and bad, extremely inspirational, and it allowed me to deal with difficulties and see the bigger picture. As I got to knwo him better, I decided to ask him if I could sit down with him to learn more about his life and experience.

Dr. Robert Frager is a distinguished figure in the aikido world, known both for his direct training with founder Ueshiba Morihei and for his contributions to the fields of psychology and spiritual development. An 8th dan in aikido and the founder of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Dr. Frager brings a rare blend of martial, psychological, and spiritual insight to his teaching. In this interview, he shares reflections on his time with O Sensei, and the art’s deeper relevance beyond the mat.

Patricia Hendricks Sensei, a 7th Dan Aikikai Shihan, has been a prominent figure in the aikido community for over five decades. Her journey began in 1974 under the tutelage of Mary Heiny and Stanley Pranin. She then spent extensive periods training in Iwama, Japan, under Saito Morihiro Shihan, becoming one of his closest students and serving as his representative in the United States. I sat down with Patricia on one evening during the 14th International Aikido Federation Summit that took place in Tokyo in late September 2024 and I was absolutely delighted to find out that all of the good things I had heard about her over the years turned out to be true.

This interview was conducted during the Kano Jirogo Anniversary Event held at the Kodokan in Tokyo on November 29th 2022. This event also marked the 140th anniversary of the founding of the Kodokan. Sameshima Motonari Sensei is an 8th Dan Judo Senior Councilor of the Kodokan Judo Institute and he was kind enough to spend time amidst his very busy day to answer my questions about judo, from the perspective of an aikidoka.

I was once told by Christian Tissier, who spent substantial time studying at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, that while he held the role of dojo secretary (道場幹事, dojo kanji) in charge of the foreigners, he used to organize occasional meetings between Ueshiba Kisshomaru Doshu and some of the foreigners of the Hombu Dojo. I recently stumbled upon the following article, which was published simultaneously in the Japanese and English versions of the Aikikai Newspaper. I found it of great interest since it constitutes a valuable record of one of such meetings, which used to be held at Doshu’s house.

Kimura Jiro Shihan is a Japanese Aikido teacher, successor of Kobayashi Hirokazu Shihan in Japan and director of the Buikukai, one of the largest organizations affiliated with the Aikikai Foundation. Kimura Shihan is one of the main Aikido figures of the Kansai region. He received his 8th Dan at the 2016 Kagamibiraki ceremony, at the same time as Christian Tissier and Miyamoto Tsuruzo Shihan. To cover the many aspects of Kimura Sensei’s practice, I teamed up with Jordy Delage - who started Aikido in a group affiliated to Kobayashi Hirokazu - for a joint interview held at the master’s dojo in Osaka. We invite you to discover a not-so-well-known portion of Aikido practice and history with one of the kindest gentlemen we have had the opportunity to meet.

As my work is receiving more attention from the aikido community, I am sometimes getting questions from some of my readers regarding the fact that my interviews and documentaries seem to revolve essentially around the Aikikai. Notwithstanding my work on Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu, this over representation is of course quite true, but it is not necessarily the product of a choice. Indeed, being a student of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, most of my close connections belong to that group. However, as a historian of aikido, I do have an interest for all legitimate currents issued from the teachings of Ueshiba Morihei. Among the many people who challenge the representation biases in my work, very few ever propose to help me alleviate it. One of them is a Canadian budo practitioner living in Japan called Reg Sakamoto. We had a short conversation via social networks and he quickly offered to connect me with his own teacher, a prominent instructor from the Yoshinkan. I jumped on the occasion and a few weeks later, I was in Kyoto meeting him and his teacher, Jacques Payet, who was an uchi deshi of the great Shioda Gozo. Jacques Payet is a long term resident of Japan and he runs his own school, the Aikido Mugenjuku in Kyoto.

Hélène Doué is one of the most popular aikido teachers of her generation. An exemplary technician, she is also particularly approachable and her kindness and pedagogy have made her an example for many to follow. Hélène was part of the delegation of the International Aikido Federation having been invited to train in the O Senseï dojo, and participate in aikido demonstrations during the 74th National Sports Festival of Japan. Having been invited to help cover the event, I took the opportunity to ask Hélène to give me a moment to do this interview. Given the large number of practitioners on site, it was not easy to find a place to film, and I must warmly thank Inagaki Shigemi Shihan, the chief instructor of the Ibaraki branch of Aikikai, for l to have allowed to make this interview in the O Sensei's dojo.

In this exclusive interview, we delve into the life and insights of Kei Izawa, a distinguished figure in the global aikido community. With over five decades of dedication to the martial art, Izawa Sensei holds a 6th-degree black belt and has been instrumental in promoting aikido worldwide. In 2008, he was elected as the Secretary General of the International Aikido Federation (IAF), and in 2016, he ascended to the position of Chairman.. His leadership has been marked by efforts to unify aikido practitioners globally and to adapt the art to contemporary challenges.

In June this year, just before heading to Europe for my series of summer seminars, I traveled to Kyoto to attend the 14th International Aikido Seminar organized by Aikido Kyoto. The organization celebrated its 15th year of existence and its founder, Okamoto Yoko Shihan, was the very first Sensei who agreed to let me shoot a video interview with her. Thanks to her trust, and the resulting video, many opportunities came up for further interviews. It therefore felt quite important to me to show my support and attend this milestone event. I had of course planned to do a report of the event [read it on Aikido Journal] but I the idea also came up to take advantage of the presence of Miyamoto Tsuruzo Shihan, Christian Tissier Shihan, and Okamoto Shihan under the same roof to conduct a joint interview, to which all of them kindly agreed. The prospect of filming such a complicated setup was a daunting one and I was lucky to be able to benefit form the support of my friend Jordy Delage, the founder of Seido Co. Ltd., who has been very active lately putting together high quality videos of his own. We prepared the questions, pooled our gear together, and sat down for about an hour with the three Sensei, who generously agreed to skip their lunch to accommodate the tight schedule. What results is a wonderful back and forth discussion regarding some essential points of practice, that anyone serious about Aikido, beyond any border or culture, should contemplate.

Christopher Mulligan began training Aikido in 1972. Along with his wife Okamoto Yoko, he established the Portland Aikikai under the tutelage of Yamada Yoshimitsu Shihan. The couple later moved to Japan and founded Aikido Kyoto, where they both teach children and adult classes. Through the years, they have made Aikido Kyoto one of the most popular destinations for foreign aikidoka travelling to Japan. Mulligan currently holds the rank of 6th dan from the Aikikai. This interview was conducted by Ty Barker, a senior student of the Portland Aikikai who took over some of the teaching upon the departure of his teachers.

Kobayashi Yasuo Shihan holds the rank of 8th dan of Aikikai. He became a student of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo is 1955 where he studied, among others, under the founder of Aikido, Ueshiba Morihei. Kobayashi Sensei is head of Aikido Kobayashi Dojos, one of the largest Aikido groups in Japan, with over 120 dojos, and representatives around the world.

Tada Hiroshi Shihan is one of the last living students of O Sensei Ueshiba Morihei. He has taught some of the greatest teachers in activity, both in Japan and abroad. He currently holds the rank of 9th Dan, which makes him the highest ranking instructor in the Hombu Dojo's hierarchy. Tada Shihan is known for the extraordinary dynamism of his demonstrations even though he is well into his 80's. With the help of his long time student, Mr Fabio Gygi, we decided to ask him about his past and about the physical and psychological concepts that he teaches during his many seminars all year round.

Isoyama Hiroshi Shihan is one of the very last living students of O Sensei Ueshiba Morihei. He trained with the master for over 20 years, both in Iwama (Ibaraki), and as an assistant during his travels. Through the years, Isoyama Shihan has served the Ueshiba family faithfully, as the head instructor of the Aikikai Iwama Branch Dojo, the dojo built by O Sensei, and as an instructor/advisor for various other organisations including the All Japan Aikido Federation, the Defense Agency, the Toride Aikikai, and the International Aikido Federation. Isoyama Shihan was kind enough to welcome me and Kei Izawa (Chairman of the International Aikido Federation) in O Sensei's Dojo, where we spoke at length about Aikido's past, present, and future.

This is the second part of my interview with Peter Goldsbury, 7th Dan Aikikai and former chairman of the International Aikido Federation. After discussing his beginnings in Aikido in the first part, we discuss here the history of Aikido, a subject that Peter Goldsbury knows particularly well since he is himself a professor of philosophy at the University of Hiroshima, and that he knows particularly well the Japanese language, the history of the country, of course, its religious specificity.

Janet Clift is a 6th Dan British Aikido instructor who runs a full time dojo Athens, Greece. She started Aikido as a child and became one of the youngest Shodan in Britain. Janet Clift was among the three female instructors who taught during the 12th International Aikido Federation Congress that took place in Takasaki (Gunma, Japan), in September 2016.

The 12th Congress of the International Aikido Federation was an opportunity for me to meet many teachers and practitioners. One of them was none other than Micheline Tissier. I suggested to her to make use of our time during the week in Takasaki to sit down and discuss about her practice, as a follow up to our first interview that took place more than eight years ago. The discussion was very interesting and it brings new elements to understand the personality of Micheline Tissier and her Aikido. Let's meet with a lady whose level is matched only by her kindness.

Peter Goldsbury is 7th Dan Aikido instructor who has been serving as the president of the International Aikido Federation since 1998. He has been living in Japan for many years and holds the emeritus professorship in philosophy at the University of Hiroshima. He has studied Aikido under the guidance of some of the greatest Japanese instructors including Chiba Kazuo, Kanai Mitsunari, Kanetsuka Minoru, and all the teachers of the Hombu Dojo including Yamaguchi Seigo, Tada Hiroshi, Arikawa Sadateru, etc. Peter Goldsbury has also been operating his own dojo in Higashi Hiroshima since 2001. In the first part of this interview, he reflects on his Aikido beginnings and explains how he integrated Japanese society.

Horii Etsuji Shihan is an instructor 7th Dan Aikikai. Very popular in Japan and abroad for his clear and powerful Aikido, he is also a very friendly and open individual. Horii Shihan shows little interest in the sometimes sterile technical demonstrations and he prefers to focus on the basics and get straight to the point, especially working on the student-teacher relationship. Horii Sensei is also a former Aikikai uchi-deshi of the Hombu Dojo under the direction of Ueshiba Kisshomaru. In this interview, he offers us a welcomed insight into this somewhat mysterious environment.

Christian Tissier Shihan is one of the most prominent Aikido instructors in the world and one of the highest ranked non-Japanese. I got the chance to go to Christian Tissier's dojo during one of my trips to Europe and to conduct my second interview with him, more than eight years after the first one. Tissier Shihan has been doing Aikido for over 50 years and I though that it would be a good opportunity to review his rich career, talking about his beginnings in Paris, his seven years in Japan with the masters of Hombu Dojo, and his current actives as a teacher as well as his legacy.

I recently traveled to the ancient imperial city of Kyoto in order to film a documentary on Okamoto Yoko Shihan at her dojo, Aikido Kyoto. In spite of the tight schedule of Okamoto Shihan, we only had a morning to get everything done but in the end, the documentary has been very well received. Due to the fact that Okamoto Shihan and I had decided to keep the film short and to the point, we had to leave out a lot of the material that we had discussed on that day. We both went back into it over the summer and I am glad to be able to present the full length transcript of the conversation that we had on that day. Okamoto Sensei covers the essential aspects of her conception of Aikido and how she thinks it should be instructed. I hope that this extended interview will help curious practitioners to understand her work and perhaps, convince them to travel to Kansai in order to study at Aikido Kyoto.

Osawa Hayato Shihan is one of the senior instructors of the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. He is also the son of legendary instructor and Hombu Dojocho, the late Osawa Kisaburo. I am particularly pleased to publish this interview of Osawa Hayato Shihan as he one of the Aikikai instructors whose classes I follow most diligently. Osawa Sensei is a warm and soft-spoken individual, yet his techniques are surprisingly explosive and sharp. He considers however that achieving such levels of virtuosity can only be achieved via the strictest compliance with the fundamentals of Aikido. In this interview, Osawa Shihan takes the time to explain in details the various elements of his practice and he provides some of his views on modern Aikido.

Tlhis is the second part of the interview I conducted with Ellis Amdur, instructor in traditional Japanese martial arts and crisis intervention specialist. In this section, Ellis and I discuss about his work as a de-escalation professional, his strategies, the effect of his martial arts training on his interactions, and the role, if any, of martial arts in terms of dealing with violence and morality. This was a very challenging interview that hit close to home on several crucial scientific subjects. I hope that it can serve both as an in-depth introduction to Mr Amdur's views, as well as a starting point for those interested to know more about the brain's response to fear, anger, and violence. For that purpose, I tried to reference all the work that we are citing throughout this discussion. To ensure that you are familiar with Amdur's background, make sure that you read the part 1 before starting on part 2.

Ellis Amdur is one of the most prominent and prolific writers in the martial arts world. He has spent many years living in Japan and learning traditional japanese fighting systems, and he is one of the few westerners who hold teaching certificates, in not one but two koryu (traditional schools), namely, Araki-ryu and Tenshin Buko-ryu. Ellis has also studied Aikido with pioneers such as Yamada Yoshimitsu and Terry Dobson. Ellis Amdur received his B.A. and M.A. in psychology from Yale University and Seattle University, respectively. In this series of interviews, I will try to introduce this complex character, starting from his martial journey in Japan, then tackling on his views of the martial arts world, and finally, in part 2, covering his activity as a crisis resolution professional.

Miyamoto Tsuruzo shihan is a 7th Dan senior instructor at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo. He has been traveling every year to France since 2006 to teach in its main Southern cities. Every year, more and more students attend the class in order to grasp Sensei's virtuoso technique and benefit from his highly refined pedagogic approach. We took the opportunity of a class he gave in Montpellier to have a chat with this kind and thoughtful gentleman and ask him about his technique and his views on teaching Aikido.

Olivier Gaurin is one of the most well-known French Aikido practitioners. His atypical path and his ease with words have made him one of the prominent voices of our martial art in France. Olivier Gaurin has been living in Japan for many years and he got the chance to practice with some of the greatest masters such as Seigo Yamaguchi and Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei. He speaks Japanese fluently and has a deep understanding of the Japanese culture, which he enthusiastically shares with other practitioners through a series of books that he wrote about the practice of Aikido. I met with Olivier Gaurin on a summer evening at his Tokyo apartment and we discussed during several hours about his martial journey and his views on Aikido while sharing a homemade pizza cooked by the "Captain" himself.

Last December, the beautiful city of Rome became the theater of an event that is to mark in our Aikido calendars. This course was in fact the occasion of a visit by William Gleason, 6th dan Aikikai and close student of Yamaguchi Sensei for his very first seminar in Europe. We took advantage of an informal lunch in the Italian capital to ask him many of the questions that had been going through our minds for a while. Rather than going through his Aikido journey, we decided to orientate the discussion towards more universal issues in terms of Aiki.

Joe Curran is the current president of the British Aikikai, the only remaining organization under the technical supervision of Kazuo Chiba Shihan after his departure from England. Joe Curran spent more than 30 years practicing Aikido and he is one of the most dedicated students of Chiba Sensei in Britain for putting us into contact during a seminar Curran Sensei gave in Tunisia. Sensei. He accepted to talk to us about his organization and his personal views on Aikido in and abroad. Many thanks to Mrad Medsouheil from the Association Sahéliènne d'Aikido.

Henry Kono (1928 - 2016) was a Canadian citizen of Japanese parents who decided during his youth to visit his country of origin. Nothing really remarkable so far, apart from the fact that he ended up spending four years studying Aikido with the founder of the art, Ueshiba Morihei. What made Henry Kono's experience truly special is that he was the only foreigner present at the time who was able to speak Japanese. According to Kono himself, it was this very capacity to understand both Japanese and occidental cultures which allowed him to reach a unique interpretation of what O Sensei was really doing. Henry Kono used to regularly visit Ireland to give seminars and it was during one of his visits to Dublin that I got the chance to sit down with him one afternoon and talk about it all. Henry usually stayed very quiet about his views but he kindly accepted to spend a few hours explaining me, one more time, what it was all about. We ended up spending over three hours together on a rainy morning of April, drinking gallons of Irish tea and smoking rolled cigarettes, with Henry never hesitating to get up to demonstrate his concepts, either on my good friend Daithí who hosted our meeting, or myself.

Cyril Lagrasta, 4th dan Aikikai, is the head instructor of the Dublin Aikikai Aikido, a group that he started over 10 years ago. It is important because it gives the opportunity to a real pioneer to express himself about all thdue work he has done to spread a certain conception of Aikido outside of France. Too few of these people make it to the pages of the French magazines so I guess that was my way to express all my gratitude to him for what he has done for me and my Aikido these last few years.

I had been trying to conduct an interview with Christian Tissier Shihan (7th dan Aikikai, head of the French Aikido Federation FFAAA) for quite some time now. Eventually, thanks to his good will and his kindness, things became possible. There are very few interviews of him published in English so I thought that this would be a great way to introduce Sensei to the English-speaking Aikido practitioners. He answered our questions with great precision and a disarming honesty which made the interview all the more interesting and enjoyable. We mainly went through the specificity of his teaching as well as the general organization and functioning of Aikido.

Alan Ruddock (1944 – 2012) was one of the few people who got the opportunity to train with O Sensei Ueshiba Morihei. He was the only Irishman to have done so, spending three years training at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. If that wasn't enough, besides being the first Irish aikido practitioner, he also single-handedly introduced karate on the island. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to call Alan both a teacher and a friend, and I decided to conduct this interview in order to introduce this kind gentleman and true budo master to the aikido community.

Meet Philippe Orban, 6th dan Aikikai and very close student of Christian Tissier for many years. Although he could have stayed in the comfort of teaching regular classes at the Cercle Tissier in Vincennes, Philippe decided to move abroad and open a dojo in Leipzig (Germany), almost ten years ago. In this interview, he kindly agreed to share his experience with us and to explain his conception of Aikido and how it fits in the way it is being practiced on the other side of the Rhine.

John Rogers (Seán Mac Ruairí in Irish) is the senior instructor of the Irish Aikido Federation – Ireland Aikikai. He holds the rank of 6th dan awarded on the recommendation by the Aikikai Hombu dojo. On the occasion of Ireland Aikikai's annual spring course, he granted me an interview and spoke of his involvement in Aikido and the history of Aikido in Ireland. This year, Kuribayashi Takanori shihan was the guest instructor of Ireland Aikikai on the occasion of its 30th annual spring course. 2007 also marks the 35th anniversary of Aikido practice in Ireland as well as the 20th anniversary of Rogers sensei's establishment of a full-time Aikido dojo in Dublin.

André Nocquet 8th Dan Aikido, 4th Dan Judo, was one of the pioneers of Budo in Europe. He was the first ever foreign uchi deshi of Morihei Ueshiba and the training partner of Tamura Nobuyoshi. This interview was conducted for the French radio station France Culture in 1988, following the publishing of Master André Nocquet's first book entitled "Morihei Ueshiba - Presence et Message". For the occasion, the journalist asked Nocquet about his experience in Japan, learning for almost three years as a live-in disciple of Morihei Ueshiba Sensei, and his subsequent work to develop Aikido in France and Europe. I have published here the full length audio interview with  added subtitles in English, as well as a full transcript of the piece for your reading convenience.