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Those
Who Have Made it Over the Pass.
The sky is high, the river is long…
It reminded me of a family, home for the Christmas holiday. Everyone
greeted each other warmly with smiles and hugs. In the middle of
the group was Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Juku, Hitohiro Saito
Sensei standing healthy and tall.
Over 250 people gathered in Reno, Nevada for this seminar hosted
by Vince Salvatore Sensei of Aikido of Reno to study under Hitohiro
Saito Sensei. The seminar that Hitohiro Sensei was to instruct
for them was rigorous, but was taught with humor, kindness and
a light touch.
I was not the only one that noticed a freshness and vigor about
Hitohiro Sensei. He looked like someone who had just finished a
long spiritual practice. In reality he is a man who has faced many
challenges head on that he could run or hide from; and his belief
in himself showed in his demeanor.
In today’s world, people live very long lives, much longer
than our predecessors. It is a blessing in that we are able to
spend more time with our parents and grandparents, but even as
lucky as we are, as our loved ones age into their seventies or
eighties, all children worry about the inevitability of the future.
In the past three years, Hitohiro Sensei has had a high pass
to climb due to the passing of his father, the late Morihiro
Saito
Shihan. Even before his father’s death, Hitohiro Sensei
had a looming burden to bear, and when his father finally fought
his
last battle and passed from this life, his death was a traumatic
event not only for Hitohiro Sensei but for the entire Aikido
world.
After his father’s death Hitohiro Sensei had much to do
to settle his fathers affairs, and care for his mother as well
as
his own family. As the new householder for the Saito family,
he also had many decisions to make concerning the past and the
future
of Iwama Ryu and students around the world. It was a time of
great trial and tribulation, a time for peeling away some of
the past
which must have felt to Hitohiro Sensei like he was peeling away
parts of his own body.
Students, associates and friends around the world held their
collective breath, waiting to hear the fate of their future.
Upon Hitohiro
Sensei’s decision to become independent, everyone had their
own decisions to make. Some chose to stay with Hitohiro Sensei
and some did not. What is now a famous phrase, “I am a student
of Morihiro Saito Shihan, I am not a student of Hitohiro”,
illustrates some of the painful separations that Hitohiro Sensei
had to endure. To speak such a phrase shows little respect or
understanding of the passing of tradition, and I am sure that
although Hitohiro
Sensei did not show it, it was deeply hurtful to his heart. Through
this time, Hitohiro Sensei did not share his heart with others
but kept calm and to himself. Finally through this journey Iwama
Shin Shin Aiki Shurenjuku was born as an independent organization,
and with this birth came the rigors of not only a new organization,
but a new family home and public life.
Last summer Hitohiro Sensei, his wife Hisako and three of his children
traveled to the United States to visit my dojo in Denver. It was
their 15th wedding anniversary, and this trip was part of their
anniversary celebration. Hitohiro Sensei was beginning to take
control and be able to balance the stresses and responsibilities
in his life with growing skill.
Hitohiro Jukucho signs bokkens.
At a lunch meeting with Aikido Journal Chief Editor Stanley
Pranin, Hitohiro Sensei apologized for being out of touch since
his father’s
death with heartfelt sincerity. Mr. Pranin in his wisdom understood,
and the two made plans for Hitohiro Sensei to instruct at the
Aiki Expo 2005. At the table were Patricia Hendricks Sensei
and Vince
Salvatore Sensei, whom both seemed very pleased with this reconciliation
and reunion.
Current instructors such as Pat Hendricks Sensei and Vince Salvatore
Sensei were both uchideshi under Hitohiro Sensei’s father
Morihiro Saito Shihan. Many of this generation of uchideshi are
actually the same age or some are even older than Hitohiro Sensei
as they had practiced under his father. Iwama uchideshi no matter
which generation have a common bond in the experience in Iwama
that they all managed to survive.
An Iwama uchideshi knows the freezing cold of winters there, and
the sweltering heat of summer. They know the rigors of countless
hours of intense training, and what it means to try to survive
in an unfamiliar culture. They know the small joys of sharing a
last piece of toast, of helping each other with chores, of practicing
so intensely that they dream alternately of practice and foods
they miss from home and they know what it means to survive on pennies
a day at times.
To put oneself through this kind of training voluntarily and be
able to survive it is what makes them Iwama graduate uchideshi
and the competent instructors that they have become.
American students have studied in Iwama as uchideshi since the
1960’s. Each student metaphorically is like one strand
of straw worked until it is strong. Each straw twisted together
become
a rope that connects the past with the future and is what we
call tradition. Along with the others the straws are part of
the rope,
by themselves they are only pieces of straw.
To witness the reunion of many of these Iwama uchideshis in Reno
was a heart warming experience; one that I am sure Morihiro Saito
Shihan would be happy to see.
Part of the wonderful attitudes of these instructors was formed
during their uchideshi shugyo (training). Uchideshi
shugyo is not the practice of Aikido technique only. Part of
the practice is
the personal commitment, the willingness to temporarily give
up personal freedoms and comforts in exchange for intense physical
practice. It is by truly committing one’s self in an environment
of limited freedom that one finds true freedom. There are many
people in today’s society that want these things, but few
who have given what it takes to achieve them. The ones that have,
are the ones who have made over the pass…
Hitohiro Saito Sensei is currently working on rebuilding the
Iwama uchideshi program at his new dojo in Iwama. This new program
will
reflect the traditions of the uchideshi training of his father,
mixed with a more modern approach suitable for today’s generation
of uchideshi. Hitohiro Sensei is researching programs implemented
in temples and other serious places of study to incorporate into
today’s Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Juku uchideshi program.
Iwama’s original Aiki Shrine and the dojo of the Founder
today is just an echo of the past. The power of the Founder or
of Saito Family remains there only in memory. One cannot learn
good Aikido technique here with only the whispers of the past as
a guide, one needs the guidance of a dedicated professional instructor
as can be found in Iwama’s Hitohiro Saito and his new organization
Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Juku. Today there is mainly emptiness at
Iwama’s Aiki Shrine dojo supervised by those who only wish
to capitalize on the Founder’s name and history.
I have met many graduate Iwama uchideshi who praticed under Morihiro
Saito Shihan in many parts of the world. All of those I have
met, even if they did not go on to become Aikido Instructors,
exhibit
the calm, confidence and ability to face life head-on that allows
true appreciation of the journey. It is in their eyes, and their
faces reflect the knowing that they are the ones who have made
it over the pass…
At this seminar in Reno, Hitohiro Sensei talked frankly with his
students, expressing many of his new opinions and appreciation.
Here is a synopsis of some of the points he made.
- At Iwama, 90% of practice is the
practice of the basics. Because 90% of practice is the
practice of the basics, within the other
10% you can practice anything.
- I received my technique
from my father, but how much I truly received from him I
will discover in the future.
- I am able to stand here before
you because of the efforts of my father’s uchideshi students.
I sincerely appreciate every one of them.
At the close of the seminar, Hitohiro Saito
Sensei said partly out loud and partly to himself as he looked
upward toward
the sky, “What
do you think Father, was it good enough?” It is with
my highest recommendations that I recommend the uchideshi
program
at Iwama
Shin Shin Aiki Shurenjuki under Hitohiro Saito Sensei. If
you are interested and have questions feel free to contact
us,
we would
be happy to offer advice and guidance.
Gaku Homma
Nippon Kan Kancho
Oct 4, 2004
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