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

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As Suenaka’s relationship with O’Sensei grew, so did his relationship with the man who first introduced him to aikido, Koichi Tohei. Thanks to the Air Force, Suenaka was one of the few original Hawaiian aikidoka who was able to spend an appreciable length of time studying at the Hombu, and so developed a relationship with Tohei perhaps unrivaled by those whose aikido practice began as his did, with Tohei’s first Hawaiian visit in 1953. Just over forty years old at the time of Suenaka’s arrival in Japan, Tohei was entering into his physical and martial prime. Handsome, charismatic, and boasting powerful technique, he was a commanding and popular presence on the mat and off, and had an equally powerful personal effect on young Suenaka. Tohei Sensei recognized Suenaka from his many trips to Hawaii, and upon returning to Japan about a month after Suenaka’s arrival there, Tohei took the younger man under his wing from the very start: “My relationship with Tohei Sensei was, I guess you would say, like a father and son . . . we had a lot of respect for each other, a lot of love for each other . . . . And even today, [I] have a lot of love and respect for him.”