A list of Senseis writings.
This time veggies for meals for 100 people were prepped after the morning practice to be cooked the next morning, and the meals will be delivered to the usual site to be served from 11:30 AM. Over 98,805 free meals have been served to those who are in need since 1992. We agreed on eating together once in a while, …
“Let’s make Japanese curry together before Aikido practice.” The day I make curry when I visit the Bilay house with everyone. Good job!
Aikido classes are about to begin!Since Bilay House was inaugurated 12 years ago, I have been telling the children that I am just a restaurant owner and I have never told anyone about my Aikido side; however, because how information spreads has drastically been changing nowadays, some children seem to have found out about the other side of who I …
By Gaku Homma Founder & Kancho of Nippon Kan The last Beginner’s Class at Nippon Kan was taught almost 2 years ago in March 2020 before all classes were put on hold due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Photos attached are from Aikido Nippon Kan’s Beginner’s Class from 40+ years ago. Notice all the wonderful smiles of the …
The coronavirus pandemic, which has created chaos throughout the world, seems to have become more under control recently in different regions. As such, many of us are trying our best to bring back the pre-COVID normalcy while continuing best practices for infection prevention measures. Since early 2020, Aikido Nippon Kan has had to be resilient and adaptive given disruptive waves …
Lately, I’m getting requests for advice from fellow Aikidoists I have not even met for various struggles they are experiencing because of the coronavirus pandemic. There are quite many people who have had to close their dojo due to sudden decrease in the number of students, and there are also others who have lost the place to practice because public …
Hitohira Saito Kaicho has recently issued a Notice to the attention of every member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai to preserve the dignity of the legacy of his father and former Aikikai Aikido Shihan & Iwama Dojo-cho, late Morihiro Saito Shihan (hereafter, ‘Morihiro Shihan’). Although I am not a member of Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shuren Kai, I totally agree …
Prologue: This article is the third in this series, “Words of the Founder”. This series of articles detail lessons I learned from the Founder and my experiences as the last uchideshi and otomo to the Founder, Morihei Ueshiba. The first two articles: This Old Man Doesn’t Need it Anymore; Words of the Founder I Do Not Teach Budo if You …
The last years in Iwama… In the last years of his life, the Founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba lived at the Aiki Shrine dojo in Iwama, Japan. He lived in Iwama until the end of his life when he was moved to Hombu dojo in Tokyo for more intensive medical treatment for liver ailments. During those last years, the Founder …
The Present April 10th, 2015 Surprising…shocking actually… are the only words to describe how I felt about what happened shortly before noon on March 24th, 2015. Having just completed his duties as Consul General of Japan in Denver, Mr. Ikuhiko Ono, paid a surprise visit to see me on his last day in Denver before returning to Japan. During his …
You won’t find these words of the Founder in the books and biography written about him. Many of the words spoken by the Founder more privately have not been published. Instead, what is most commonly written about Aikido and the Founders teaching are words of “love, harmony and peace” which in my personal experience with the Founder do not reflect …
Shuhari roughly translates to “first learn, then detach, and finally transcend.” shu (守) “protect”, “obey” — traditional wisdom — learning fundamentals, techniques, heuristics, proverbs ha (破)”detach”, “digress” — breaking with tradition — detachment from the illusions of self ri (離) “leave”, “separate” — transcendence — there are no techniques or proverbs, all moves are natural, becoming one with spirit alone …
Out of the Dojo but Still in the Dojo In the past twenty years I have been to many places in the world that have been considered dangerous. I did not go to these places because there was alleged danger; I went because there were people in these places that needed support. This past summer I visited Illigan City on …
We Can’t Forget… Reflections on the Upcoming Kyougaku Taiko Drummer “Arigatou” ConcertTour 2012 The survivors today of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami are living through their second winter since the disaster. This year there has been a particularly harsh winter with deep snows and severe blizzards. The people of Japan stand together and day by day continue to …
The following article was published by Nippon Kan General Headquarters in Japanese and English for tbe Nippon Kan General Headquarters and AHAN International websites. This article was written by Gaku Homma, Nippon Kan Kancho, from the perspective of an international humanitarian activist and a Japanese National living in the United States for nearly forty years. *** On March 11th, 2011, …
