General News: Bill Sosa Sensei Passes Away

12/31/1969 4:59pm [from Jun Akiyama]
Website: http://www.internationalaikido.com/h...sh/e_main.html

I have just received word that Bill Sosa sensei (6th dan, International Aikido Association), passed away on Sunday, June 9th, 2002, at approximately 11:40am (CST). I don't have any more details at this time, but I will post when I get them. My condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones.

Thanks Jun,

Some of the people in my dojo/style have trained with or under Sosa sensei and would appreciate any information.

Thanks again,

Bronson

Sosa Sensei's services are pretty much like Sosa Sensei was - private. I am surprised that his death has made this forum. My sensei was never one to publicize anything - even his books were someone else's idea. The aikido that he was teaching was exceptional, and one of the best kept secrets in the aikido world. "The proof is in the pudding" - just look at his students if you have had the opportunity to do so.

More information can be gotten from the IAA board of directors. I don't feel that any information should come from me. We will sorely miss this great man - but his spirit and aikido will live through all people that he had an impact on.

Sosa Sensei, we love you, miss you, but we will continue what you have started.

Ross Robertson sensei of the Still Point Aikido Center has given me permission to post the following that he wrote to members of his dojo:

It has fallen upon me to inform you of the news of Bill Sosa Sensei's passing. He died of pancreatic cancer on Sunday June 9th, after only three months of illness. Sosa Sensei was my first aikido instructor and remained an essential part of my aikido long after I moved from Dallas. Before following his own path in establishing the International Aikido Association, Sosa Sensei was a major cornerstone of Seidokan Aikido, and his contributions to our legacy can not be overstated. His love and devotion to Kobayashi Sensei was an inspiration to me to always seek the best aikido from the source, and to continue to further the flow however it may lead. I hope you will all join with me in mourning his passing, and celebrate his being. Memorial and funereal services will be held tonight and tomorrow morning, June 11th and 12th. For details contact Randy Boniface at 214-638-7469.

-- Jun

Yes Sensei was a private man, yet his family knew how very important his students were to him, and he to us. They did allow an open invitation to the ceremonies, and the service fit the man; Gentle, Honest, True and most Importantly, Full of Genuine Love. The few short years I was honored to know and learn from him seem to have left me with the same image of him as those who had two or more decades,
"A True Teacher".
Most profoundly, one can judge a man by his friends, his family and truly, his legacy. In such a case as Sosa Sensei, Rare is a Man Such As He.
Truly, Thank you to the Sosa Family for sharing their life with us.
W.Ross
Shreveport, LA

There is now a lovely memoriam on Sosa sensei at the International Aikido Association website:

http://internationalaikido.com/html/.../memoriam.html

-- Jun