George S. Ledyard

Imaizumi Sensei is at our dojo teaching a seminar this weekend. I was chatting with one of his senior students and we got on the subject of how our teachers could, even after thirty years, still whip out some block of techniques which you had never seen before. I had seen this at the Rocky Mountain Summer Camp with Saotome Sensei. I was commenting on how much was lost each time one of these teachers passed away.

My friend said that Imaizumi Sensei had commented that this had started even in his generation. Much was lost when O-Sensei passed away and more as the old instructors, like Arikawa Sensei, died. When his generation passes, still more will lost. But he said that this was ok and part of the natural process because the students who have come after will develop their own knowledge and skills that they will add into Aikido so it will keep growing. It will be different but it will still grow.