o'sensei's best student?

i know there has been many of discussions about this
and this might end up turning into an arguement, but hey thats half the fun of it right? discussing who you think is his best student and why?


for instance i could say right now i personally think gozo was, he was a 9th dan, he not only trained under O Sensei at his physical peak, he founded the 2nd most popular aikdo under aikikai (sorry about the spelling).

i'll edit my post above that to

in 1961 Received 9th dan from Morihei Ueshiba sensei.
and in 1985 Received 10th dan from the International Budo Federation

There are others who received their 10th dans directly from O'Sensei. Who's to say if that means they were better? Highest ranks don't necessarily equate to "best" student, by the way. O'Sensei himself had no Aikido rank at all.

Best in terms of what? So much of this is highly subjective, even if we start speaking in specific terms of what we're basing "best" on. On top of that, I wonder if any of us is even remotely qualified to make suggestions since most, if not all of us, haven't trained with all or even most of his direct students...if any at all. Looking at the few dojos I've been to, it seems that even among the highest ranking students (with the most experience) there are things which one person is better at than another and vice versa.

If you read the history of Aikido, I think you will find that O'Sensei's best student was himself!

O Sensei's best students are no different from the best students of our own senseis. There are many reasons for being the best student. I think the best student is the one who finds his/her own way, climbs his/her own mountain. In gassho.

why do we have to know whos the best?

aikido varies from one practitioner to another

you cannot compare it because different individuals have different natural movements when practicing the art.

Hi all,

Perhaps he meant to to ask, "Who are the best teachers amongst his students?"

Aikido techniques are rooted from O Sensei's perception of budo. It is this "spirituality" that differs aikido techniques from other martial art. These techniques of compassion can truly be executed when one is void of ego. Perhaps this is the reason why no one has surpassed him.

Just my thoughts.

David Y

well its just our opinion on who YOU reckon was
not who actually was

Well, Im not getting into the whos better than who, cos as someone said, we have no real way of making comparisons. But the three that stick out for me are: Shioda, Saito and Tohei.

Minoru Mochizuki was the most versatile. He studied jiu-jitsu, judo, aikido, iaido and kobudo (katori shinto-ryu)

Nafis Zahir wrote: If you read the history of Aikido, I think you will find that O'Sensei's best student was himself!

Aloha Nafis!

You're QUICK! You beat me! My thought exactly! And Aikido is alive and thriving and likely only to gain in popularity. What a gift for O'Sensei to have left here for the world!

BTW, your tagline "Everything that has a beginning has an end" is wrong. A complete circle has no beginning and no end. Peace, Justice & Love.

Aloha,

-Robert

I am not sure if i am right or wrong on this but it seams that i recall reading or hearing that Koichi Tohei Sensei took all Challenges to Aikido in the hight of its growth (50-60s).
I would expect that means something on top of recieving the 10th Dan. But Saito is said to preserved O'Sensei's Art most fully intact/ I think the best student is the one that fully intergrated into his own essense the universe, and no one will ever now who that was.

[quote=Robert Fortune]Aloha Nafis!

BTW, your tagline "Everything that has a beginning has an end" *may be* wrong. A complete circle has no beginning and no end.

Aloha Nafis!

Allow me to publicly edit that post. At some point, a complete circle has no beginning and no end since its end becomes its beginning. Clearly it had to have begun somewhere and therefore has to have a beginning and so it should also have end, but like I said its end becomes its beginning. The two opposites become one and the same. Aikido folks! Circular motion\movement(s) and spheres. We'll get there yet! (We're breaking in! Tonight!)

I imagine other enclosed areas have the same property. Wow! My head hurts!

Aloha,

-Robert

I remember reading a case where the best student turned out to be the one who was already dead.

I'm not as up on my aikido history as I would like to be, but it's just my opinion that the "best" student would be the one with the best attitude towards continued training.

If you are talking technical excellence, then like has been said, some people are better at some things than others.

Sensei Uttech, Good to see from you, do you remember me we met in dallas at Fabia Sensei's home and had lunch, I still teach and use alot of your instuctions from that seminar. I tried to look up you wisconsin school on ASU's site, did i miss it.
But great quote, about the one already dead...
Bill Ross Shreveport

but on the contray, it has nothing to do with who preserved o sensei's aikido
because everyone does their own aikido not who preserved o sensei's aikido the best

Reply to Bill Ross: I remember you very well, and thank you for the nice things you said regarding the seminar I taught. If you got to the ASU (Aikido Schools of Ueshiba) website, click on dojo info, and scroll down to Wisconsin, you'll find the Marshall dojo. Good luck

In gassho