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Graham Christian wrote:
Hi Francis once again. After writing the above response I think I see what I'm missing. The whole point of this column. Indeed from that perspective I have no real input to add and someone like Ellis Sensei would be more to the point as far as british history is concerned as well as those who personally trained with the likes of Noro Sensei and others who came over here in the early days.
Apologies for my misunderstanding. I will look foreward to reading others experiences.
Regards.G.
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Dear Graham,
My good friend Henry Ellis was indeed an early pioneer of U.K Aikido [along with a few others] .The history of U.K. Aikido is complex with much diversity of leaders and of different groups.
There are now at present 5 Aikikai recognised groups and a myriad of other groups . There are also Tomiki /Ki/ Yoshinkan groups as well.
My own pedigree /lineage started with the Renown Aikido Society. I subsequently joined the Aikikai of Gt Britain /B.A.F, the U.K.A. and I am currently a member of the British Birankai.With the possible exception of the Renown all these groups have been under the technical supervision of Chiba Sensei at some point. Chiba Sensei is our Technical Director. Chiba Sensei in the 70s was along with Saito Sensei a primary figure in relation to Weapons /Batto Ho work in the U.K.
As such I am fortunate to have a fairly good picture of the U.K. aikido scene.If any person has a specific question about the lineage of Aikido in the U.K. I may well be able to comment here.
May I also state I support Mr Ellis in his task of ensuring a correct history of U.K. aikido .
Cheers, Joe.