Shuji Maruyama Sensei Visits Nippon Kan
November 15th, 2002
From November 13th to the 15th, Shuji Maruyama Sensei made a special visit to Denver. In between seminars on the East Coast and in Seattle, Washington, Maruyama Sensei was gracious enough
to visit Nippon Kan. Here, he instructed Nippon Kan members and guests in a two hour special class.
As a general rule, Maruyama Sensei does not teach at dojos not affiliated with Kokikai, the organization of which he is Founder. We felt fortunate to have this special opportunity to participate
in a class with Maruyama Sensei, a man who has had a very special role in the history of Aikido in the United States over the past three decades.
The class was held on Wednesday, November 14th, and was attended by about 70 students from Nippon Kan. He began by stating “I first came to Nippon Kan about 16 years ago…I was
five years old at the time!” A master of timing, delivery and style, Maruyama Sensei had everybody laughing. The time flew by as we continued to enjoy his unique teaching style and methods
for the next two hours. Maruyama Sensei was assisted by John Corro and Todd Kuper from Philadelphia, who will also assist him as he continues on to teach in Seattle, Washington. Thanks to
John and Todd for their energy and expertise.
When Homma Sensei first began to practice Aikido at the age of thirteen, Maruyama Sensei was an Aikikai Instructor in Homma Sensei’s hometown of Akita.
In 1976, Homma Sensei traveled to the United States for the first time, where he met Maruyama Sensei again in Philadelphia. In the time in-between, Maruyama Sensei had been busy establishing
Aikido in the United States.
Maruyama Sensei role in the history of the development of Aikido in the United States has been a major one. In the mid 60’s, Maruyama Sensei was sent by Aikikai Hombu headquarters to
the United States as a pioneer to spread the teaching of Aikido. At that time, the US Aikido community was not yet well organized into federations or other alliances. In those early years,
Maruyama Sensei helped plant the seeds of what has grown into aikido practice in the United States today.
After leaving Aikikai in the early 70’s, Maruyama Sensei formed Ki Aikido in the United States with Koichi Tohei Sensei. Maruyama Sensei was responsible for naming the organization,
and in its early development.
Maruyama Sensei soon after formed his own organization Kokikai which has now grown world-wide. Twenty years ago Maruyama Sensei moved his headquarters from Philadelphia to Nagoya, Japan. He
still travels regularly to the United States to teach at his dojos here.
Maruyama Sensei is a very important testimonial to the early history of Aikido in Japan and the United States. He has never sought the limelight however, and there is very little written about
him. He is unique in both his philosophies and methods. During Maruyama Sensei’s time in Denver, Homma Sensei had the opportunity to renew a relationship between teacher and student
that has been in existence for almost forty years. Today both Homma Sensei and Maruyama Sensei are both independent instructors of Aikido. Their philosophies and methods differ in some ways
greatly, but there is a shared history that cannot be erased.
Homma Sensei will soon be posting an article based on an exclusive interview with Maruyama Sensei during his visit to Denver. Watch for this upcoming article, it should be quite interesting.
Emily Busch
Nippon Kan Vice President
