Understanding the Masters

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[Guillaume Erard]

http://www.guillaumeerard.com/images/stories/aikido/articles/gouttard/understanding-sensei/seigo-yamaguchi-and-philippe-gouttard-02.jpg (http://www.guillaumeerard.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103:understanding-the-masters&catid=10:articles&Itemid=110)For the past three decades, I have been returning to Tokyo every year order to train with the masters of the Hombu Dojo, and every time I feel the same joy, even though my expectations are not always fulfilled once I actually step on the tatami. But it is just fine like that. Given this situation, there are questions that I am being asked rather often, particularly during the social moments such as those spent at the cafe nearby the Hombu Dojo, the one where foreign practitioners often meet between classes. These questions are mostly "Why are you coming back to Tokyo every year? What are you coming for? Why do you always go to Saku to train with Endo Sensei even though your practice does not at all correspond to the principles that he is demonstrating?"



(Original blog post may be found here (http://www.guillaumeerard.com/aikido/articles/understanding-the-masters).)