If you try to learn with your intellect, it is more difficult to absorb the teachings on a deep level. The mind looks at something and says, I don’t want that; I want this instead....

Don’t make the mistake of depending on the presence of certain people for your training,’ he advised me. ‘Teachers come and go. My own teacher, O-Sensei, died not long ago. I could have given up...

O-Sensei was frequently head to say. ‘Aiki is not a technique to fight with or defeat an enemy. It is the way to harmonize the world and make humanity one family.

Now is the most important time. The world today is chaotic-you know this. But the age of the heart will come. O-Sensei emphasized that we must return to the heart. Firmly grasp O-Sensei’s philosophy–the heart...

In Aikido training, we learn from everyone. We learn from the most experience people, but we also learn from new students. Everyone is connected through the heart and develops a mutual understanding. It is important...

We need to remember that the primary goal of Aikido is harmony and good relations between people. If we don’t cultivate a harmonious heart along with technical skill, there will be a lack of integration...

To reach an understanding of Aikido as love, you have to be shinken [completely focused; as if wielding a real sword]. You need to commit yourself, body and soul. Without a wholehearted focus, you won;t...

Aikido practice is a method of incorporating the fundamentals of Great Harmony, Great Love, and Gratitude into one’s own heart. To integrate these fundamentals into Aikido technique, I have to eliminate the sense of winning...

Aikido is not ultimately Japanese: It is an art of universal truth and international significance.

But when I sat listening with the other Aikido students and teachers on the mat at the Kumano Juku Dojo, all of us dripping with sweat and focused intently on the practice of Aikido in...

Through my willingness to train every day and to dig deep in the after-class ukemi sessions, over time I earned the respect and friendship of my training partners, who were mostly Japanese men sincerely surprised...