How Do We Transmit Authentic Aikido to Our Younger Generations?
This question has been on my mind for a considerable amount of time, several years to be fair and more so lately since I now have been teaching Aikido at the Aspire Aikido London Dojo.
In fact, I made a personal promise to myself years ago, to do all I can to preserve and teach authentic Aikido that I learnt from all my teachers, as I continue to learn today and for years to come, improving my Aikido for as long as I may continue for the rest of my life.
Teaching Aikido holds me dear, and my heart tells me very clearly that if Aikido is to continue to exist in the form that I know or learnt, I must ensure I transmit all I know wholeheartedly so it can be seen as ‘Authentic’ as possible.
If it weren’t thanks to Morihiro Saito Sensei devoting his life teaching Aikido and passing on the knowledge through many great Senior Teachers who in turn are passing on the knowledge of this Art, worldwide for decades, Iwama Aikido would not have continued the way it is today.
So, I want to thank all our senior teachers worldwide for doing tirelessly what Morihiro Saito Sensei has done – like a candlelight keeping the flame burning and carrying on with the teaching of this beautiful Art.
It is actually the reason why I have been sharing a number of Aikido videos on our Aspire Aikido London facebook group so that each one of us can truly see all the hard work that have been done by each of our senior teachers. We really should thank them all for giving this gift to us to carry on holding this candlelight for our future generations to come.
To anyone reading this blog, I can testify that Aikido works and is effective, providing you do the right thing i.e. apply the techniques correctly at the right timing and correct positioning of your body.
My life experience has been and is quite unique with the fact that I mentioned quite frequently that I have a profound hearing disability (Aikido built my confidence coping with my disability), the fact that I learnt Aikikai and Yoshinkan Aikido before embarking with Iwama Ryu Aikido back in 1995 and the fact that I worked as Bouncer in night clubs having experienced a number of fights and or having to evict trouble makers out of the premises I had to use Aikido for a number of years and quite often, I was outnumbered in fighting situations and Aikido has helped me to cope with one against many. Iwama Aikido provide the necessary skills how to deal with multiple attackers…
My learning of Aikido has had a profound effect in me that I personally owe to Morihiro Saito Sensei and all my teachers who taught me this Art. It is therefore, a natural decision for me to do all I can, to transmit in turn, this beautiful Art as intact as possible so that our future generations may benefit to truly learn what I would call Authentic Aikido from Morihiro Saito Sensei following the lineage of O’Sensei who was perfecting this Art in his late years in Iwama.
It is very easy and tempting as Teacher to wanting to making alteration or changes to adapt what works for you and to teach only a selection of techniques that one can do well.
To me, this would be an error of judgement to follow this path by further transforming the Art and deviating away from all Aiki principles that Morihiro Saito Sensei tirelessly taught us. To be accurate, transforming meaning adding another Art with Iwama Aikido and making a blend with them.
I am not criticising any instructors who choose to follow this path but I merely stating this for me as a person, that it would be a mistake if I were to do this.
The passing on of Authentic Aikido would simply vanish away, which would be sad if it did. I am hopeful that we, teachers choosing to pass this Art as authentic as possible, to become a candlelight for our younger generations, just as our senior Teachers are to us!
To understand that preserving this Art, unselfishly and with humility is the best gift we can give, in my view, as Aikido is not an Art that I personally created but an Art that I learnt from my teachers who devoted to pass it authentically too.
Nowadays, we know that there are some serious challenges for Aikido schools to find new students due to the current pandemic and some Teachers worldwide are doing their best to attract an audience, so they want to create something innovative and flashy to get new students to join in.
I can completely relate to this, as I am too starting a new school and I know the worries every Teacher would have in his/her mind: “am I going to have any students in my lesson to cover Dojo financial commitments?”
No doubt, that we are all crossing a difficult time, especially when Martial Arts schools have had to shut down following Government instructions. Some Dojos are having some financial pressure and losing more students may be hard to keep school open. Some Teachers have adapted well connecting with their students with the continuing teaching of Aikido via zoom classes, or via YouTube videos, or via patreons video links.
Some instructors have been luckier than others where teaching of Aikido is Dojo remains authorised. We, in the UK, have only been able to do so for the past few months re-opening schools and launching classes but the pandemic remains, which we are all learning to live with it and adapting as best as we can. We now know that there must be a balance for our mental well-being, we cannot remain in lockdown for ever and we must find our way back adapting as best as possible.
Some instructors have also got a special gift with amazing skills and with a natural ability to attract a younger audience because they know and understand what the younger generation wants to see.
The truth is we must find our way to adapt dealing with the pandemic for one, but to adapt also finding new committed students who may be the future generations Teachers passing on this beautiful Art to newer generations to come.
If we can find our way to adapt and at the same time teach, with humility the Art as authentic as possible, it would be the best recipe to ensure our Aikido not only survives but thrive to allow new talented Aikidokas to be the next future pillars of Aikido.
My final advice would be to trust and follow your heart not your ego, the former would lead to a greater success for Aikido to thrive maintaining its authenticity to the fulness. In my view, we owe this to our future generations to come!