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Old 08-08-2013, 03:46 PM   #10
Hellis
Dojo: Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido
Location: Bracknell
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 657
England
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Re: It Had to Be Felt #43: Kanetsuka Minoru: "Following in the Footsteps"

I was assistant to TK Chiba Sensei from 1967 to 1972 - I trained maybe once or twice with Mr Kanetsuka at the London Chiswick Dojo, I am not sure of the date, possibly 1970 - I recently asked Chiba Sensei what grade Mr Kanetsuka was when he first visited the Chiswick dojo - Chiba Sensei replied Shodan - I was a long serving Ni dan. My memories are a little different to most on here. When Mr Kanetsuka arrived I was so pleased to see another dan grade that would / should, take the pressure off me as I was getting hammered each and every practice night. Chiba Sensei hardly ever used Mr Kanetsuka, so it was back to normal for me.

At the Kenshiro Abbe Memorial I remember Ken Cottier telling me of a bizarre story of Mr Kanetsuka at a seminar in Oxford in a gym - where he climbed up a wooden frame and demanded that the students grab his foot ( makes a change from grab my wrist ) his leg and foot were stretched out and dutifully the students one and all ran up grabbed the foot and were thrown across the mat - I asked Ken " That is bizarre, did it actually work ? " - Ken replied " I don't know, I was the only one that was not daft enough to try " .

Henry Ellis
Co-author ` Positive Aikido `.
http://britishaikidoboard.blogspot.com/
( British Aikido Board Exposed )
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