Blitz - June-July 2017

that might lead to someone else
being injured.”
As a family man and father
of two young boys, Ueshiba
Sensei leads an increasingly
busy life. Not only does he head
the day-to-day operations of
the Aikikai Hombu dojo, he
also attends aikido functions
outside the dojo, travels to other
countries and, on top of all that,
finds time to spend with his
family. Does such a life leave
any time for interests other
than aikido, I asked? A great
roar of laughter filled the room;
it was clear from his reaction
that ‘free time’ is rare, and as
he began to explain his normal
routine, I got the feeling he had
to plan his days with something
approaching military precision.
He confessed to enjoying sports
like football, basketball and a
few others, although I got the
feeling he managed little more
than a fleeting glance at these
on TV... “I really enjoy skiing
and snowboarding, but when
I do these things I have to be
responsible and be careful not to
put myself in a situation where
I have an accident and suffer an
injury. If I was injured, it would
cause a lot of problems for other
people, not just me. So I try to
be careful in the things I do.
Mostly when I relax, I watch
TV dramas or a movie, things
like that.”
“Isn’t it difficult, not being
spontaneous, free to do what
you want without considering
others?” I inquired.
“Well, some people might
think that’s the case, but actually I
don’t feel that way at all. I believe I
have come to terms with thinking
about the effect of my actions
on others, so now this is normal
for me. Ever since I entered the
world of aikido, I have known
that I will be Doshu one day, and
I have always appreciated how big
a responsibility this is. However, I
cannot change who I am. So, while
I never forget my responsibility,
I do not let it overwhelm me;
instead, I focus on what I can do
for the good of aikido, and then I
try to do these things one by one.”

At this point in our

conversation, I was reminded

of a question I’d asked Ueshiba

Sensei’s father about the

achievements of his predecessors.

Morihei Ueshiba founded aikido,

his son, the second Doshu, spread

the art around the world and

the current Doshu continues to

work tirelessly to maintain the

core principles of aikido among

the many hundreds of thousands

of aikidoka who look to the

Aikikai Hombu for inspiration

and leadership. I asked the

younger Ueshiba what he

thought he would like to achieve

when his time comes. He gazed

thoughtfully, looking through

the small window out to the park

beyond, peering into the distance

as if trying to see the future

coming closer. “My first aim is to

maintain the positive energy that

already exists within aikido. As

you rightly pointed out, O’Sensei

made aikido, the second Doshu

lead aikido’s growth around the

world and the present Doshu has

strengthened aikido further. All

of these achievements have been

very positive, so I must succeed

in continuing the same way.

Actually, if you look at the two

kanji (Chinese characters)

used to write the first

name of the current Doshu

(Moriteru), the meaning is

quite significant for aikido,

I think. In English these

characters translate as, ‘protect

the centre’ or ‘defend the core’.

The kanji used in my own first

name (Mitsuteru) signify,

‘strengthening the core’. So

you see, my destiny has

been written in my name

since the day I was born.”

This was the kind

of mindful reply

I had come to

expect from

Ueshiba Sensei’s

father, and I

was beginning

to appreciate

that perhaps

the physical

techniques of

aikido are not

the only family

Ueshiba Sensei demonstrates

with his uke, Umetsu Sensei

Marie Petery Sensei in action