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

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“It was in the spring of 1964. It was the Aiki-Matsuri, the Aiki Festival, which was held every year in Iwama, at the aiki shrine. People came from all over the world to pay homage to the Aiki-Jinja and O’Sensei. There were about two or three hundred people there—Robert Frager, Robert Nadeau, Terry Dobson, several instructors from the U.S., although I can’t remember anyone from Hawaii being there. But anyway, Kenji Shimizu and I went there early in the morning, around eight o’clock, to wait for O’Sensei. I think he arrived at about noon, by car, and all the uchi deshi were waiting around for him.

Tendokan aikido founder Kenji Shimizu and Suenaka Sensei at Iwama; April, 1964.

Shimizu Sensei and Suenaka Sensei at Shimizu’s dojo in Setagaya, Japan; Winter, 1993

“The car pulled up right in front of the dojo, and as it happened Shimizu and I were standing right there. So when the car door opened and O’Sensei stepped out, we reached forward and each of us took one of his hands in ours, to help him, and walked him up the stairs to the dojo. By that time most everyone besides the deshi were waiting for O’Sensei inside the dojo, and it was a small dojo, too, even smaller than it is today, so the place was packed, the walls were lined with people. So Shimizu and I helped O’Sensei to the middle of the mat, and when we got there we continued to hold his hands. I don’t know why; maybe we were nervous or something. But O’Sensei looked around at all the people there, and then he slowly looked over at me, then at Shimizu, and he had to be thinking, ‘What are these two idiots doing still holding my hands?’ And then suddenly, wham! He executed a double sayu-nage, his arms came up and back and Shimizu and I flew backwards. I mean, our feet came up off the mat and we somersaulted and slammed into the tatami. It hit us like a freight train! And there was O’Sensei looking down at us, and he said, “Why were you holding my hands? What, do you think I’m a useless old man, I can’t stand up on my own?” He wasn’t really angry with us, but he wasn’t really joking, either. He was scolding us, ‘What’s the matter with you two?,’ that sort of attitude. Of course, Shimizu and I were bowing: ‘Hai O’Sensei! Gomen nasai!’ (‘Yes, O’Sensei, I’m sorry!’). We hopped right back up and took our places by his side again, but we didn’t hold his hands! And then he told us, ‘Now, go sit down.’ It was pretty funny.”