“If you are willing to learn, he is willing to teach”

May 10
2009
Masa
Kokoro

I have been practicing Aikido since 1988 in Guelph, Ottawa and Calgary. The past five years or so I have been practicing with Ben Sensei and my only regret practicing at Masa Kokoro is that I didn’t find Ben Sensei sooner.

I never fail to be impressed with Ben Sensei’s skill and insight and the man is incurably good humoured! There hasn’t been a practice where Ben Sensei was in a grumpy mood or not in the mood to teach. He is always respectful of students, no matter what their level of skill, and he is always respectful of other teachers.

The effectiveness of a technique is foremost in Ben Sensei’s mind. He encourages his students to practice at other dojos so they can see a technique performed slightly differently or with a different emphasis. You have to make a technique your own. You may be taller, shorter, stronger, weaker or differ physically in other ways from the person demonstrating a technique. You may have to subtly alter the technique to make it work for you. The final arbiter on whether you are doing a technique correctly is whether it is effective for you; can you actually throw this person whether he wants to fall or not…  Ben Sensei is always willing to spend time with you to perfect a technique. If you are willing to learn, he is willing to teach.

It has been a pleasure to practice with Ben Sensei. I hope to practice with him for many years to come. Thank you Ben Sensei.

Rudy Gelderblom

This is from: Student Comments

  • Aikido Pros


    Aikido is a good, viable self-defense. It is probably better for self-defense than any of the empty-hand martial arts that are commonplace including TKD, karate, hapkido, jujitsu, and judo. It has been reported that some old-school judo teachers have told their students that for real self-defense do aikido but for sport do judo.

  • Aikido Background


    Aikido (合気道) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as “the Way of unifying (with) life energy” or as “the Way of harmonious spirit.” Ueshiba’s goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

  • Aikido History


    Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝 盛平 Ueshiba Morihei, 14 December 1883–26 April 1969), referred to by some aikido practitioners as Ōsensei (”Great Teacher”). Ueshiba envisioned aikido not only as the synthesis of his martial training, but also an expression of his personal philosophy of universal peace and reconciliation. During Ueshiba’s lifetime and continuing today, aikido has evolved from the koryū (old-style martial arts) that Ueshiba studied into a wide variety of expressions by martial artists throughout the world.

  • Hakama


    What is the name of the kind of skirt the aikidoka’s wear?

    Hakama. It was originally worn by samurai’s and is used to conceal the movind of the legs. It depends on the dojo where you’re in if the wearing of it is permitted when you’re not a shodan.

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