Special memorial issue of Hikari, the Western States AAA Newsletter

The Newsletter
HIKARI
Aikido Association of America Western States
Volume 4, Issue 2
August 2001
Special Edition in memory of
Fumio Toyoda Shihan
November 8, 1947 - July 4, 2001
Hikari 1
Toyoda Sensei Memorial
This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Toyoda Shihan,
our Sensei. He was born into Life on November 8, 1947. He
was born into Eternity on July 4, 2001. It has been said that
he arrived in the United States a little over 25 years ago with a
gi, a hakama, 25 dollars and a pack of cigarettes. From those
humble beginnings he created the second largest aikido
organization in the world with over 150 dojo worldwide and
thousands of students. Reflecting upon his achievements I
am reminded of a famous quote. “Some men see things as
they are and say why. Others dream things that never were
and say why not.” He never let the impossible deter him.
–The Editor
Aisatsu
Christine Dyer
James Nakayama
I first met Toyoda Sensei in 1990. He was the toughest man
I’ve ever met. In those days I think he was suffering a lot of
joint pain, but you couldn’t tell while he was on the mat. He'd
roar and joke and throw people across the room and laugh a
lot, as always. After class he’d bow off the mat and the pain
would show. This always inspired me to do my best, and then
some. I was happy that in later years he seemed more
comfortable.
Chushinkan Dojo, Buena Park, CA
Greetings everyone.
This issue of Hikari is dedicated to Fumio Toyoda Shihan, founder
of the Aikido Association of America and Aikido Association
International. More than that, it is dedicated to a man whom we
will all miss very much. A gaping hole has been left in our lives.
Once filled with Toyoda Sensei’s presence, always seeming much
larger than life, our lives now seem emptier, less dynamic…. My
mind finds it hard to accept that he is gone. Still, I know this is the
big lesson we must learn – acceptance. So, we move forward. The
AAA/AAI will continue onward, and we will prosper and carry on
with the work that he left us. This is our obligation to Sensei. And
for many of us, it is our gift of commitment to a man who affected
our lives in ways both large and small. His dream will be brought
to fruition, as we take what has been given to us and pass it on to
others.
When I think back on the life of Fumio Toyoda, I am awed by his
accomplishments. I doubt seriously that anyone has or ever will
again, single-handedly carve such a niche into the aikido world.
Much has been written of these accomplishments, and
undoubtedly much more will be written, so for now, I will leave
this to others. Rather than his deeds, I find myself reflecting on the
man I called Sensei.
Ì
It seems odd. You would think that the memories would be of all
the time spent on the mat, enjoying Toyoda Sensei’s powerful
Toyoda Sensei was always giving us challenges: get up and
demonstrate something… do the warmup for a seminar…
lead suburi exercises, etc. He knew how to get the best from
us and make us rise to the occasion. He regularly made us do
things we didn’t know we could do.
Although it was scary, we always wanted Toyoda Sensei to
watch our dan tests. We would gauge Sensei’s reaction to
exams by his body language. Looking intently at the wall or
becoming fascinated by his feet were bad signs.
Toyoda Sensei ate a remarkable variety of food, and often
shared it. The dish that sticks most in my mind is fatty fish
underbelly (Bulgaria), which was actually quite good. He liked
to talk about food, too… often during long training sessions
when meals were overdue. Somehow Sensei would equate
food with truths about life, the universe, and everything. I
often missed these truths because I was so hungry.
Sensei never asked us to do anything he would not do himself.
And we knew that not only would he do it himself, he’d do it
better, and he’d done it a thousand times before.
Memorial continued on page 4
Aisatsu continued on page 3
Hikari 2
Aisatsu continued from page 2
movements and breath-taking throws. After all, it was in the dojo
that we spent most of our time, training and sweating. From state
to state, all across the country, to Hawaii, and even further to
Bulgaria and Japan, I followed him everywhere for that time on
the mat, watching and learning. Yet when I see him in my mind’s
eye, it’s not there at all. It’s very strange.
œ
I see a sunny afternoon. Sensei is outside, in the back of our dojo,
sitting in a chair and relaxing, enjoying the shade thrown by the
pine tree in the middle of the garden. The clacking bokken and
enthusiastic kiai of students practicing during a break provide an
unexpected peaceful background to the setting. “Sounds good!”
he muses. Really, it doesn’t get much better than this.
œ
We’re in Bulgaria at a large public demonstration. The stage looks
small, surrounded by the seats going up, higher and higher and
lost in the glare of the lights. We’re sitting on chairs off to the side
watching Tajiri Sensei’s demonstration as each of us awaits our
turn. I’m leaning on my sword, complaining to Sensei that Hiroshi
gets to do a spectacular aikido demonstration, throwing students
left and right, while I’m relegated to swinging my sword. “What
can I say?” he shrugs with that infectious grin. I roll my eyes in
mock exasperation as he laughs good-naturedly.
œ
It’s a muggy night in Wisconsin as I walk down a dormitory
corridor when I catch the unmistakable smell of ika, dried
cuttlefish, cooking. I follow the very distinct aroma to a rec. room
where I see Sensei standing before a microwave oven. He looks
over his shoulder and spies me, a very mischievous grin on his
face and guiltily laughs, “I think it smells bad, huh?” Yeah, Sensei,
real bad, but oh so tasty!
œ
We’re in Japan at a restaurant. I’m staring down at the small glass
of sake, filled to the brim and literally overflowing with sake,
sitting right in the middle of a square wooden cup. “Do you know
why it is full like that?” Sensei asks. I shake my head no.
“Because” he continues, “it makes you feel good when there is
lots of sake and it’s spilling over the sides like that. So then you
have to drink some,” Sensei explains as he sips off the excess,
“and then you pour this back in again.” Sensei demonstrates by
pouring the overflow from the wooden cup into the glass. “Then
you feel like you’re getting a lot of sake!” he beams. Yeah!
This time, the Japanese restaurant is here in the States. Sensei
is admiring some of the woodwork. We walk around and he
touches the wood. “I like this redwood. See how the corners
are cut? When this wood gets older, it gets darker. This is
what you should use for your shomen wall.” He sits down
and pulls over a paper napkin and starts to draw shomen wall
plans. “I’m not sure how you’re going to join these two
sections here,” I point out. “Like this,” and he draws angled
views. I shake my head doubtfully. “Next time I come, you
should make your shomen wall already,” he urges. I am still
dubious as to how some of it will come together. This
conversation continues off and on for many years.
œ
Sensei finally loses patience with me. A few days before a
seminar at my dojo with Hiroaki Kobayashi, Sensei arrives
early and drags me off to the local Home Depot. We buy
lumber, nails, sandpaper, and other odd bits of supplies. This
is Sensei’s gift to our dojo. Supplemented with tools of every
size and shape, Chushinkan Dojo students start piecing
together the dojo’s shomen wall. Our blueprints are scraps of
paper, and of course, napkins with shomen wall views of
every angle. Sensei is directing a half-dozen of us like a
seasoned construction crew foreman. Even Kobayashi Sensei
gets into the act, swinging a hammer. Miraculously, we’re
done before the seminar starts.
œ
It is 1991, and we are conferring after conducting dan exams.
Sensei is chiding me for being too hard. I honestly don’t feel
that I am, and propose, “Sensei, I think you’re much harder
on the students than I am!” “Yes, I am sometimes. But you
have to learn to beat with compassion!” Beat with
compassion. I’ve carried those words with me like a koan for
10 years, trying to make sense of them. Now, just days after
Toyoda Sensei’s funeral, feeling sad and frustrated, thinking
back that now I’ll never know the answer, it comes to me. Of
course, “Beat with compassion….”
œ
Hikari 3
Memorial continued from page 2
have my picture taken. I thought he would always be there. And
until he died, I had no idea how much I loved him. But life and
aikido practice go on. The best way I can remember Sensei is to do
what he taught us - work out most days, give it all I've got, and
laugh a lot.
Matt Brown
Orange County Aiki Kai, Santa Ana, CA
Looking through years of photographs of past Aikido events, I see
more than group photos and action-shots. I see relationships;
relationships created between individuals who come together and
share in the teachings and training of Aikido. These relationships
extend beyond the walls of our individual dojos, out to those who
train in other cities, states and countries. Many relationships are
created by the members of the Aikido Association of America and
Fumio Toyoda Shihan bringing us together.
Toyoda Sensei demonstrating with uke Christine Dyer, Chicago, April 2001
I can still hear Sensei’s voice in my head, but I find it impossible
to write things down as he said them. His sentence construction
was – very creative. Phrases come back to me... he recently
explained away New Age California as “a woo-hoo condition”.
More memories of Sensei…. Sewing his ripped hakama in my
kitchen at 1 a.m., and hoping the stitches would look nice in
daylight. Putting his luggage into trash bags in my truck bed
when I picked him up from the airport in torrential rain. During
a work party at the dojo to build a shomen wall (Toyoda
Sensei’s idea), going on a McDonald's run with Hiroaki
Kobayashi Sensei, who carefully held Toyoda Sensei’s melting
soft-serve ice cream cone in front of the air conditioner at full
blast. Misunderstanding Toyoda Sensei’s wish for indigestion
pills (Tums) and presenting him with Orange Tang. He hid his
amazement well.
I think we all wish to tell the world how much we cared about
Sensei, how much we miss him, and how much we regret losing
our great teacher. I took it for granted that there would be many
years left for me to learn from him. Although I used to see
Toyoda Sensei every few months, I never posed with him to
All members of Orange County Aiki Kai are saddened by the
recent loss of Toyoda Sensei, who was taken from this earth far
too soon; however, the impressions he left with each of us will last
forever. Just as the spirit of Harry Ishisaka Sensei ( Orange County
Aiki Kai’s founder who passed away in 1978 ) remains alive in our
dojo, Toyoda Sensei’s spirit and the impressions he made will
remain alive and strong as well. More than the Aikido techniques
he taught each of us, Toyoda Sensei brought thousands of
Aikidoists together to share in his teachings. In time, relationships
were formed, friends were made and a family began. The sacrifices
he made in order to reach each of us is recognized, appreciated and
will never be forgotten. Orange County Aiki Kai is optimistic in
looking ahead and will continue to support the Aikido Association
of America and do all we can to help keep the works and dreams
of Toyoda Sensei alive.
Kirt Wackford
Ganshikan Dojo, Salt Lake City, UT
I never met Toyoda shihan, but his presence was conveyed to me
by all the aikidoka I know who did know him. I could make the
analogy of knowing an architect by living in his building, but that
doesn't go far enough, for the AAA is a living organization, not a
dead building. I could make the analogy of knowing a gardener
through experiencing his garden, but that doesn't go far enough
either, for AAA was not just cultivated, it was assembled with free
and sentient beings. AAA is composed of those who experienced
the energy of this man, this Fumio Toyoda, and who then desired
to participate in his energy. Through joining AAA, hundreds of
people were asking Toyoda shihan to be their guide and mentor in
continued on page 5
Hikari 4
Memorial continued from page 4
aikido. People are imperfect, and the aikidoka I know have the
fears, frailties, and shortcomings of all humans. But I have never
met anyone in AAA who was bitter, who was aggressive, or who
used their skill at Aikido for self-aggrandizement. These are the
people that Toyoda Shihan attracted, the people he gave a home.
Toyoda Shihan came to this country without an organization, and
through years of effort created a nation-wide union of dozens of
dojo. This is impressive, but it could have been accomplished by
anyone with sufficient credentials, dedication, and business
acumen. What is more impressive, what was uniquely his, is the
caliber of aikidoka within AAA, both in their technical skill
and in their ethical character. That is how I know Toyoda
Shihan, and the legacy I feel from him - that he gave me so many
training partners and instructors, that he left me with so many
friends and so many people who were moved by his energy to
come together as a family.
seminar was, I asked someone next to me, “What just had
happened and was he serious?“ That was my first encounter
with Sensei.
Veera Kasicharernvat Sensei
Ramona Aikikai, Ramona, CA
Ganshikan Dojo, Salt Lake City, UT
This year, I lost two beloved teachers (John Damian Shihan and
Fumio Toyoda Shihan). The most memorable lessons from them
are the Aloha Spirit, compassion, friendship, going forward in
Imua Ki, humor, composure, and One Mind. They will always be
remembered with respect. Thank you Sensei for your guidance,
kindness, and support.
Richard Interdonato
Ganshikan Dojo, Salt Lake City, UT
Although I never met him I believe that he must have been a
great man. Perhaps the very fact that you continue his work today
will be of value to his family because he continues to work
through you. I expect that this form of immortality is not only
honorable but perhaps to be received as a sacred reward for a life
of meaningful activity. Perhaps this does not lessen your or your
teacher's family's pain, but I hope to be remembered this way.
Thank you for teaching me.
As the months and years of training passed, seminar after
seminar, I began to admire, appreciate, and respect Sensei’s
teachings more and more. I was always hoping that one day I
would get the opportunity to spend just a little time, one to one
with him, and talk about aikido and himself. Well, if you love
something enough, it will reveal its secrets unto you! After a
seminar in September 2000, at Kenshinkan Dojo in Vista, CA,
Toyoda Sensei asked me to drive him to LAX airport
immediately after the seminar. I couldn’t believe it; I am going
to drive a Shihan in my car. I gathered his belongings and we
proceeded to drive to LAX. As we drove, we spoke and
touched on many subjects involving his family.
Beth Craig Sensei
Toyoda Sensei was always generous of himself with his
students. Taking ukemi from him was a privilege. Of course,
one had to take great care not to hit his feet, as I did every
seminar – every time. To the point where, on seeing me, he
would grin and shuffle his feet away. Finally, last year, we
completed an entire seminar without any damage to his feet.
While I can admire and respect Toyoda Sensei's greatness as an
Aikido instructor there is one thing he did which increases him
in my estimation. Every time he saw me he always asked,
"How is your baby?" Of all the thousands of his students
everywhere in the world, he remembered something that was
important to me individually. Even more, he took the time to
ask about something that was important to me, personally.
Toyoda Sensei was a great instructor; to me he was also a great
man.
John Craig
Ramona Aikikai, Ramona, CA
Steven Wasserman, D.C.
Aikido of Rossmoor, Seal Beach, CA
It was my first seminar and first month training in aikido in 1997.
At this seminar, Toyoda Sensei walks up to me after
demonstrating a technique and yells, “Where’s your dojo patch,
you not pay AAA your dues?” in the most serious, authoritative
voice. I replied, “I have to work for my 7th kyu first Sensei, then
I get my patch.” He then let out the most bellowing laugh as he
walked away. I had no idea who this aikidoka running this
Profound wisdom from Toyoda Sensei: "Throw uke like a
tomato, don't make tomato juice."
Hikari 5
Toyoda Sensei, he asked Tohei, "Then why did you send me
to the Zen temple for all those years?" and Tohei replied,
"You have become too American! No Japanese student
would talk like that to his teacher." AAA was founded, in
concept, at that moment. Toyoda Sensei looked back on it as
a painful event however, due to his respect for Tohei Sensei
and his friendship with members of the Tohei family.
Early picture of Toyoda Sensei with members of Jinshinkan Dojo
Fred Phillips Sensei
Jinshinkan Dojo, Beaverton, OR
I first met Fumio Toyoda in 1975. Koichi Tohei Sensei had
brought Toyoda Sensei and Shizuo Imaizumi Sensei to the
United States, to establish them permanently in Chicago and
New York. Toyoda Sensei had spent time in Chicago the
previous year, and had attracted students who would form
the core of Sensei's Chicago Ki-Aikido Society.
Tohei Sensei offered a seminar and public demonstration in
Chicago, with help from his two young deshi. Toyoda Sensei
had not yet mastered counting in English. As a result, the jo
kata demonstration ("20! 9! 17!") was a glorious disarray, with
sticks flying in every direction as the class tried to follow
Sensei's count.
At first, Toyoda Sensei's behavior, and our interactions with
him, were formal. He didn't go along the night Tohei Sensei
went dancing at the Playboy Club! By the early 1980s, when
I was living with him at the old Evanston dojo, Toyoda
Sensei had become much more American and informal. That
was an era of great parties and much fun. Sensei and I
married our girlfriends within a few months of each other.
Just before a sesshin in Evanston, Sensei and Tanouye Roshi
"blessed" my marriage and lent me four jo to hold up the
chupah for my wedding.
One story that only I can tell: I was in Toyoda Sensei's office
at the Ashland Avenue dojo at the moment he parted ways
with Tohei Sensei. Tohei was on the phone from Japan, and I
could hear the loud voice on the other end of the line. Sensei
hung up, turned to me, and said, "Well, we're out of the Ki
Society." The point at issue was Toyoda Sensei's teaching of
zazen rather than Tohei's ki meditation. According to
Toyoda Sensei decided early on that AAA could not be an
independent organization forever; a mechanism would be
needed eventually for the worldwide recognition of his
students' ranks and for continued access to senior shihan in
the event of Toyoda Sensei's incapacitation. Sensei's foresight
in this matter proved tragically accurate.
He saw that AAA's future was with the World Aikikai
Hombu. (He declined the opportunity to merge AAA with
Seidokan, the new U.S.-based aikido federation founded by
Rod Kobayashi Sensei.) Having taken significant flack for
leaving Hombu Dojo with Tohei Sensei earlier, Toyoda Sensei
knew this future would not come soon. He then embarked on
what would be his greatest organizational accomplishment,
one that would take nearly twenty years. This was to build a
strong association of hundreds of dojo worldwide, so that he
(and we) could approach Aikikai Hombu with face. It was
achieved in the late 1990s, when AAA and AAI became
affiliates of Hombu Dojo. Ironically, as he became older and
more adept at dealing with Japanese organizations, Sensei
again became more formal and more Japanese. Had he not
had his "American phase," we might all be Ki Society
members still.
It was well known that Chiba Sensei and Yamada Sensei
helped Toyoda Sensei in his rapprochement with Hombu
Dojo. Toyoda once let slip that the late Akira Tohei Sensei, a
man with whom he had not spoken in many years, had also
generously helped. "Shh, don't tell anybody," Toyoda Sensei
said, "Akira Tohei is very proud, and he wants everyone to
think he's still mad at me."
Like Sensei's personality, his aikido technique evolved also.
But he would say, "I always teach the same; you just listen
different!" He was telling us to look harder, to see the aspect
of Toyoda that didn't change, and to see the unchanging
essence of the technique. Yudansha learned to ask him
questions with caution; his scathing responses clearly implied
that if you knew enough to ask the question, you knew
continued on page 7
Hikari 6
Phillips Sensei continued from page 6
enough to figure out the answer. In contrast, he indulged kyurank students with gentle encouragement.
(positive attitude). It was a joy to practice so hard under his
leadership. I left my first Instructors' Seminar with lots of
memories of things to practice, but most important, having
learned about the positive attitude and powerful "+ ki" that I
am challenged with infusing into every Aikido movement,
and then with extending that into my interactions with other
Sensei became flustered and irritated with himself when he
made a mistake, be it in judging people or in timing an aikido
class. In AAA business matters, he often muddled things by
not saying clearly what he wanted. Whether from his
friendship, his accomplishments, his explicit instruction, his
indirect implications, or his shortcomings, I learned an
immense amount from this man, probably more than I now
realize. Thousands of his students who feel likewise will
serve his memory by meditating on what they learned from
Toyoda Sensei, and by passing it on to the next generation of
aikido.
Aikidoka, and other people, including my family.
Toyoda Sensei standing at the top of Logan Canyon in
Utah overlooking Bear Lake.
Tenshinkan dojo - 1981: Ron Sims is in the second row, last on the right.
The late John Takagi (dark glasses) is to the right of Toyoda Sensei.
Ron Sims Sensei
Jyushinkan Dojo, Logan, UT
My first Instructors' Seminar under Toyoda Shihan was in
March, 1981. I was ranked second kyu. I remember, even today,
that Toyoda Sensei was so dynamic, enthusiastic, and energetic.
He talked about his family and families in general, with regard to
each family member playing a proper role to help the family kids being kids and having fun, dads accepting their
responsibilities to be fathers, and mothers proud to be mothers.
It was all "+ ki." In that way harmony is achieved and the family
is balanced and functions well. I learned from that some
valuable insights about the application of Aikido practice in
establishing individual identity, positive energy, function, and
harmony of the Aikido practitioner in working with other
people. At my first Instructors' Seminar, I was feeling insecure
and uneasy about my Aikido and abilities, and I remember
Toyoda Sensei's approach of practicing very hard - doing
weapons movements over and over - and with tremendous +ki
During a seminar in Logan at Utah State University in
1999, Toyoda Sensei and I took a break and drove 35 miles
from Logan, passing farms and driving through Cache
National Forest up to Bear Lake to see the scenery, enjoy
the fresh air, and look at the Logan River and try to see
Rocky Mountain trout in the water. This was a much
enjoyed rest for Toyoda Sensei, who talked about his love
of fishing and how fishing was related to Aikido. Toyoda
Sensei also talked about his early life in rural Japan, and his
connection to farming. He appeared to be as much at
home in the rural setting of Logan, Utah, as he was in
Chicago. His ability to be present and aware in the place
and in the moment, wherever he was, was amazing. The
Aikido seminar at USU led by Toyoda Sensei and infused
with his sense of humor and dynamic practice was
outstanding. I remember the hard dedication of Toyoda
Sensei to establish AAA in Utah. For a period of over five
years starting in 1994 he visited Utah at least once, and
sometimes twice a year, and worked with many dojo cho
and Aikido students.
He personally helped me in
establishing a professional flyer and brochure, as well as
Hikari 7
continued on page 8
Sims Sensei continued from page 7
Toyoda Sensei at the Logan Utah State University Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Center
providing advice on business aspects of administering a dojo. I found the information and advice he provided to me to be
invaluable in helping me administer Jyushinkan dojo. He was amazingly insightful with regard to assessing my situation with
regard to trying to organize and facilitate a dojo, and in offering effective advice on what to do. Sensei had a sixth sense with
regard to understanding people, recognizing their motivations, and knowing how to offer advice. And he provided additional
help and support through establishing Regional Directors that could offer more frequent Aikido training. All of these actions
were critical to the establishment and success of AAA in Utah and to the establishment of Jyushinkan dojo under Toyoda Sensei
and AAA leadership.
Left: Ron Sims
Sensei
experiencing
Toyoda Sensei's
dynamic technique
Right: A happy
seminar moment
Hikari 8
Lara Anderson
Jyushinkan Dojo, Logan UT
The gifts that Toyoda Sensei gave were so numerous it is
difficult to decide where to begin the list. Toyoda Sensei
was a teacher without parallel and a martial artist of the
highest order. Whenever I attended one of his seminars I
would come away, not only with exceptional new
techniques to pract ice, but inspired to train with a new level
of commitment and happiness. Toyoda Sensei was
unabashedly sincere and open with all his students. At the
beginning of each seminar I remember being quizzed about
how my college classes were going, what was happening
with various dojo members, as well as the progress of our
dojo. His interest was genuine and his concern about the
well being of our dojo was clear.
He demanded intense practice from his students, but
balanced this with a personal gentleness. I remember him
sitting beside a student who had hit her head during practice
and was crying. He petted her head and waited with her
until she was ready to return to the class. I also remember
him playing basketball (with a makeshift ball) after a
seminar with children who had watched the class. The kids
had found a large ball of used duct tape that had been
holding the mats together and were thrilled when Toyoda
Sensei joined them.
Toyoda Sensei poses with Lara Anderson, center, and
Ron Sims Sensei
I noticed that he always took time to chat with people
watching the sessions. He talked to everyone, ranging from
friends and family of participants, to strangers just walking
in from the street. I felt that he took an energetic interest in
all the students, and was especially kind and encouraging to
those who were just beginning aikido. I still remember his
care and interest the first time I attended one of his
seminars as a fourteen year old girl. He showed his interest
by yelling enthusiastic corrections and once even took
ukemi for me. Every time I practiced with him, I found his
love of Aikido and his enthusiasm contagious. I recall that
on the day of my shodan test, Toyoda Sensei told me that
he had been the same age as I was when he had tested for
shodan and he fondly reminisced about his early training.
He told me about practicing as a boy and that his dojo
sometimes had cold floors and that he would stand on his
older brother’s feet to keep his own warm.
Toyoda Sensei shares a Michael Jordan moment and
In addition to his kindness, he was a dynamic and skilled
a duct-tape basketball with delighted Utah students
instructor, always challenging and demanding more from his
students, while teaching truly incredible technique. It was these qualities that set him apart not just as a great instructor but a mentor
and a friend to all his students, including me. I loved him dearly and am grateful to have learned from him.
Hikari 9
Teaching Committee Seminar
Chushinkan Dojo, July 14-15, 2001
By Kathleen Pierce
At first it bothers me that everything seems so normal. The
same people, the same chatter, the same stretching on the mat.
At the first seminar in the Western States following Toyoda
Shihan’s death ten days before, I half-expect some physical sign
to reflect his passing, but it is too soon. Most people are still
struggling within themselves to see what it means.
The differences seep in more slowly. A picture of Toyoda
Sensei is now on the shomen wall. He’s wearing street clothes,
leaning forward with that familiar open grin on his face. The
sensei tying their hakama off on the side look more subdued
and serious than usual, talking with each other in low voices.
Martin Katz Sensei of Ryushinkan has interrupted his vacation
and flown in to be at the seminar. Ken MacBeth Sensei and
James Nakayama Sensei immediately ask him to teach along
with them as a guest instructor. As each one takes the class,
they speak of Toyoda Sensei, recalling things he said to them,
lessons they learned from him. Nakayama Sensei starts his
session by asking everyone to sit in silence, but after a moment
cuts it short, saying, “I can just hear Sensei telling me, ‘Enough
of that—train!’”
AAA will go forward in a straight line. It won't die with
Toyoda Sensei.” Eric Bauer of Ryushinkan agrees, recalling,
“Katz Sensei said that the mark of a great teacher is that he
makes you be more than you are. I liked that, because that's
how I feel about my own sensei.” Ron McDevitt of OCAK is
impressed by “the good things the teachers said about
Toyoda Sensei; not just his aikido aspects, but the way they
spoke of him as a person.” What does he think of being at a
seminar so soon after Sensei’s death? “It’s what he would
have wanted.”
Cheri Dahlen, visiting from Tenshinkan in Chicago,
comments on “the incredible energy in the room, a very
welcoming feeling from everyone,” and then voices the words
I hear from many people over the weekend, “No one here
would know each other if not for Toyoda Sensei.” Matt
Brown of OCAK observes, “The strong sense of community
among the dojo that Toyoda Sensei built remains. The
techniques don't pass away, though he has.”
Adam Hernandez, a 13-year-old who recently began his
training at Chushinkan Dojo, says with wistful insight,
“Seeing Toyoda Sensei's picture, he looks like a good person.
If he were here, the atmosphere would be different. People
would be happier.” Derrick Stumpp of Kenshinkan
concludes, “I think he wants us to remember everything he
taught us; to go on.”
Kevin MacBeth of Kenshinkan says later that he will remember
the sensei's introductory speeches, which showed that “the
Hikari 10
More memories of Sensei…
Below: Hikari's Editor, Derek Nakagawa,
flanked by James Nakayama and Toyoda Sensei
at Kenshinkan Dojo, October 25, 1996
Toyoda Sensei having fun with Kevin MacBeth - Chicago, April 2001
And still more to come…
By John Bieszk, Itsushinkan Dojo, Illinois
Just a few short months ago, the new International HQ for the AAI opened in Palatine, IL and the International Grand Opening of
this new and beautiful facility happened at the end of April, at the Instructor's Seminar. It seemed that Toyoda Sensei and the
AAA/AAI/AIF were about to embark on a new "age" of spreading aikido techniques and aikido principles. But life is never exactly
what you expect, and suddenly, our Teacher was taken very ill and passed on to eternal life. Our new age has changed incredibly.
With the permission of the Toyoda Family, I ask all members to come together and capture Sensei's teaching, spirit and influence in
words for a memorial book in honor of Sensei. By putting our memories into word and pictures now, we can still recall events, training
before our personal lives start to cover over these memories with the latest developments of everyday events. Soon these memories will
be harder to recall, and after some years, no matter how hard we try or want to remember, they will have been forgotten.
Please write down your memories and experiences. It would help enormously if dojo cho could collect these stories and send them to
AAA Headquarters, 1016 W. Belmont, Chicago, Illinois, 60657, Attn: John Bieszk, or email them to [email protected] with
"Toyoda Sensei Memorial" in the subject line. Electronic versions of these stories would save time in transferring written to electronic
words. Photos of Sensei giving demonstrations, seminars, or just being Sensei would be greatly appreciated, but please send a copy. It
will be impossible to keep track of all submissions and guarantee return of all items.
By creating this memorial, we will have more of our Sensei's teachings and experiences available for ourselves and for future students,
to more fully appreciate and understand. We all look for books, stories and histories of O-Sensei, to learn more about aikido and the
man who created this art. In the future, if someone asks us to tell them about Toyoda Sensei, we will be able to tell them much about
Toyoda Sensei, his aikido teaching and principles, and the effects on the lives of his friends and students.
A note from the publisher: The contents of this memorial edition Hikari will be submitted for this memorial project. If you have
additional memories or photographs, please submit them as requested above.
Hikari 11
Aikido Association of America Western States
Aikido Academy
William Gray Sensei
14860 NE 95th St., Redmond, WA 98052 (425) 882-9934
e-mail: [email protected]; web: www.aikidoredmond.com
Aikido of Rossmoor
Derek Nakagawa Sensei
Body & Mind Martial Arts
Jason & Sabrina Mix Sensei
Chushinkan Dojo
James Nakayama Sensei
Enso Center
Beverly Corwin Sensei
Ganshinkan Dojo
Veera Kasicharernvat Sensei
12235 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, CA 90740 (949) 653-0231 Fax: (949) 6530923 e-mal: [email protected]
8410 165th Ave., Redmond, WA 98052 (425) 869-0276
e-mail: [email protected]
7212 Orangethorpe Avenue, Suite 8, Buena Park, CA 90621 (714) 523-2255
e-mail: [email protected], web: www.chushin.com
1508 NE 117th Street, Seattle, WA 98125; (206) 364-4515
e-mail: [email protected], web: www.enso-center.org
529 S. 800 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84102 (801) 328-1381
e-mail: [email protected] web: http://hello.to/ganshinkan/
Jinshinkan Dojo
Fred Phillips Sensei
15695 Bobwhite Circle, Beaverton, OR 97007 (503) 690-1353
e-mail: [email protected] web: http://omlc.ogi.edu/aikido
Jyushinkan Dojo
Ronald Sims Sensei
The Whittier Center, 290 North 400 East, #5, Logan, UT 84321 (435) 752-6069
e-mail: [email protected]
Kenshinkan Dojo
Ken MacBeth Sensei
1310 N. Melrose Drive, Suite E, Vista, CA 92083 (760) 724-3656 Fax: (760) 7296598 e-mail: [email protected] web: members.home.net/aonc
Koshinkan Dojo
Robert Krone Sensei
Orange County Aiki Kai
Henry Oshiro Sensei
6280 N. McDermott, Boise, ID 83642 (508) 453-3485
e-mail: [email protected] web:member.aol.com/rkrone7514/index.htm
2525 N. Grand Avenue, Suite Z, Santa Ana, CA 92705 (714) 997-4861
e-mail: [email protected], web: www.ocaikido.com
Ramona Aikikai
Beth Craig Sensei
3245 Lansdown Lane, Ramona, CA 92065 (760) 788-3267
e-mail : [email protected]
Ryushinkan Dojo
Martin Katz Sensei
2029 28th Street, San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 552-1652
e-mail: [email protected], web: fun2do.com/ryushinkan
Hikari is published quarterly by Chushinkan Dojo for the Western Region of the Aikido Association of America and is distributed to member dojos in the Western
Region. Address all correspondence to: Chushinkan Dojo, 7212 Orangethorpe Avenue, Suite 8, Buena Park, CA 90621 Phone: (714) 523-2255
e-mail: [email protected]. Publisher: James Nakayama; Editor: Derek Nakagawa. Copyright 2001 Chushinkan Dojo. All Rights Reserved.
Chushinkan Dojo
7212 Orangethorpe Avenue, Suite 8
Buena Park, CA 90621
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Hikari 12