Kazuo Chiba Shihan : November 2023

How Times have Changed in Almost 70 years of UK Aikido

" No matter your pretence, you are what you are, nothing more. " Kenshiro Abbe Sensei.

I have studied at length with many high ranking Japanese teachers / Legends. Most memorable were Kenshiro Abbe - Mutsuro Nakazono - Kazuo Chiba . ( Tada - Kobayashi - Noro - K Williams -Ichimura - Tamura - Harada - Karate - T Otani - Kendo) Jei Nakazono.

I think back to a time when there were only five dan grades for Aikido in the whole of the UK, I was proud to be one of them.

I seriously never thought there would become a time when teachers would grade themselves or much more pathetic to be graded by their own students.

I can imagine when I was a child and all the kids in my class at school getting together to promote the teacher to `` Professor ` we would have got, and deserved a thrashing with the cane.

There are so many now calling themselves 7th or 8th dans and I believe some higher still. I have to ask the obvious question, do they really compare themselves to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei and Chiba Sensei to name a few ??

Site Admin: Henry Ellis

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Click here -> British Aikido History Site

The Amazon books ` Kenshiro Abbe Sensei ` - `British Aikido History` - The Founding of Jujitsu - Judo - Aikido in the UK` The books are written by Henry Ellis - Derek Eastman two of the last of the surviving direct students of Kenshiro Abbe from the 1950s. - Co-author Abdul Rashid.

If you are interested in the factual history of British Traditional Aikido as documented by a direct student of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei and Ken Williams Sensei from 1955. Please visit the British Aikido History site, take a look at the Amazon book " British Aikido History " a great book with many photos of past and present teachers both British and Japanese.

Read the recently resurfaced Mutsuro Nakazono letter from 1966. This letter was received by Ken Williams Sensei at a time of great upheaval in British Traditional Aikido, and the break up of the `British Aikido Council` BAC . This was just months before the arrival of TK Chiba Sensei.

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" British Aikido History " - the book-Amazon release March 12th 2021

"British Aikido History" This new book tells the history of Aikido from its 1955 earliest UK origins, old photos - stories - anecdotes - interviews - This book by two of the last surviving pioneers Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman, their personal stories and reminiscences will give the reader a taste of the atmosphere of those days when Aikido was virtually unknown to the western world.

`British Aikido History ` available from March 12th 2021 on Amazon. The book is published in two versions, Black and white - cost; £6-35p - USA $7-65 or the coloured version cost £27-31p

Click Pic - Visit Amazon "Look Inside" for free preview.

Kazuo Chiba Sensei 8th dan

The Life - Giving Sword (Click )

This blog was created to help preserve the memory of Kazuo Chiba Sensei 05/02/1945 - 05/06/2015 - Chiba Sensei a direct student of OSensei who came to the UK in 1966. Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman left the `Hut Dojo` in 1967 to join Chiba Sensei as assistant for five years and remained associated until his passing.

I strongly recommend the new book by Liese Klein Sensei a long time student of Sensei, Liese is the only person authorized by the Chiba family to author the book " The Life- Giving Sword ".

This new book is now available on Amazon. 537 pages of fascinating and compelling reading.