Читать книгу Complete Aikido. Aikido Kyohan: The Definitive Guide to the Way of Harmony онлайн

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It might have been this unforgettable early glimpse of air combat that led Suenaka to investigate becoming an Air Force fighter pilot. However, his initial enthusiasm was cooled somewhat by the gradual realization of the lengthy study necessary to attain that goal. First, he would need a college degree. Then, he would attend Officer’s Preparatory School. And then, if he made it that far, he would move on to actual pilot training. Nevertheless, he was determined to give it a shot.

After completing boot camp at Lackland Air Base in San Antonio, Texas, in December 1958, electrician and Airman 3rd Class Roy Suenaka was assigned to Mather Air Force Base, the ATC (Air Training Command) and SAC (Strategic Air Command) base in Sacramento, California. After enrolling in Sacramento College to study electrical engineering, top priority was finding a place to practice martial arts. Just a few months after arrival and with Yamamoto Sensei’s blessing, Suenaka began teaching aikido at the Mather Air Base gym. He also landed a part-time job with the San Juan school district teaching judo, plus some aikido, at Encino High School two hours a day, three days a week, for which he was paid the handsome sum of ten dollars an hour. For a young man in the early 1960’s, it was excellent money, especially since the Air Force already paid for his housing and medical care on top of his base salary.