Poll: Is your current aikido instructor the best aikido practitioner with whom you have ever trained?

no i am not Jorge, however we all are ultimately our own teacher, and are likely to meet many 'senseis'... but "my sensei" is the best i have ever seen or studied with...

yes

Lucy Smith wrote: Yeah, he is, since he's a 3rd Dan, and all the other ppl with whom I've trained are 2nd Dan or lower. I did however witnessed a Seminar by Masatake Fujita Shihan (8th Dan from Hombu Dojo), but didn't participate 'cause I was so new I didn't have a gi and felt stupid. But he signed my t-shirt anyway, and I've got a photo with him

Lucy,

One thing to not get hung up on is rank. Just because your Sensei is a 3rd Dan does not automatically make him better than a 2nd Dan.

Evaluate each person you train with on their own merits rather than just assuming that higher rank equals better skill.

I have watched people at my dojo, other dojos and seminars all leave the mat with varying degrees of knowledge or confusion. On each of the occassions we all encountered the same instructor therefore it appears that the only true teacher of Aikido for each of us is ourselves. The Sensei or workshop leader is a guide and a resource but we each teach ourselves by applying our understanding to what is demonstrated. I have two long studied, high ranked, Sensei plus numerous dedicated sempai at my dojo but always my best learning occurs after class or alone on the mat reflecting on what was presented. Sometimes the best lesson is something that weny completely wrong. This is a long way of saying that practice and reflection are my Sensei and they are the best teachers that anyone can ever encounter.