{"id":1011,"date":"2020-04-15T17:58:14","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T17:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/?p=1011"},"modified":"2020-04-19T14:19:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T14:19:44","slug":"how-i-met-the-most-amazing-aikido-instructor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/how-i-met-the-most-amazing-aikido-instructor\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Met The Most Amazing Aikido Instructor?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"880\" height=\"545\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_DaELOYvE4g\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the story of how I met my Aikido instructor, Kato Hiroshi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He wasn\u2019t my first Aikido instructor, but he was my last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a fateful moment, in Japan and I was ready to give up on my dream, to learn Aikido.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was totally defeated, the wind knocked out of me, laying flat on the ground, not knowing what had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK, so it all started with my desire to learn Aikido in Japan from the top masters in the world.&nbsp; I heard from everyone here in the United States, the best Aikido is in Japan.&nbsp; I heard we do it this way because that\u2019s the way they do it in Japan.&nbsp; I even heard,&nbsp; you\u2019re not good enough to go to Japan\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what did I do, I went to Japan.&nbsp; At first I had no idea where anything was.&nbsp; I didn\u2019t know where honbu dojo was, I didn\u2019t know where my homestay was, I didn\u2019t even know where my university was, and I was certainly that typical male that would rather walk around lost for hours than ask for directions!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I finally got situated, First joined the Sophia University Aikido club, then I joined the The AikiKai World Headquarters hombu dojo.&nbsp; I started training a lot.&nbsp; Everyday morning and evening.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then started the burnout&#8230;or was it burnout&#8230;maybe it was a thirst for knowledge, practical knowledge of an Aikido that would really work.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I learned quickly that the Aikido taught in the United States is very different than the Aikido taught in Japan.&nbsp; I also learned that Aikido is a lot of fun, but not that effective for real situations.&nbsp; And, I learned quickly that some instructors really did not like me at all!&nbsp; Especially Yamaguchi Sensei.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What can you expect, I was young, stupid and pretty strong.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, I became very disillusioned.&nbsp; How could this be the Aikido that I read about, and that everyone back in the States told me about.&nbsp; I was ready to quit!&nbsp; I was ready to give it all up, tuck my tail between my legs and walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Out of the corner of my eye, one day at the honbu dojo, I saw Kato sensei\u2019s training and teaching.&nbsp; I was impressed.&nbsp; I thought, wow that guy is really good, too bad I\u2019ll&nbsp; never get the chance to train with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, a few weeks went by, barely hanging on ready to quit at any moment, then one of the Sophia Aikido members said that he wanted to introduce someone to me.&nbsp; Someone very special.&nbsp; That Friday night at Honbu dojo, after the 7:30 &#8211; 8:30pm class, he introduced me to Kato Senei, but at this point I was gone, ready to quit and tired of all the ego.&nbsp; Kato Sensei asked me to attack him, and all I thought to myself was,&nbsp; boy, another old egotistical Japanese guy, thinking he can tell me how not to do the technique even though he can\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was ready to attack him and show him that his technique doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I went straight in with an shomen attack.&nbsp; I struck fast and hard, I thought I was going to hit him square on the head, but he wasn\u2019t there, so I decided to tense up my whole body and not let him throw me.&nbsp; I resisted with all my might, and suddenly I felt like my lungs were being stretched from the inside,&nbsp; the next thing I knew I was on the ground, on my back with the wind knocked out of me.&nbsp; It was the worst feeling I\u2019d ever had, I had no idea what had happened and no one had ever done that to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That moment, I decide, wow, now that\u2019s an Aikido I want to learn.&nbsp; That really worked.&nbsp; This small old frail japanese guy just knocked the wind out of me with an iriminage throw.&nbsp; It was the most mesmerizing thing that had ever happened to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a smile on his face, he looked down at me and said, are you OK?&nbsp; Daijobu?&nbsp; I was seeing stars.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that very moment I became his apprentice.&nbsp; I studied with him every chance I got, I learned as much as I could from him and about him.&nbsp; His lineage, his technique, his subtle personality.&nbsp; He was an amazing man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would train with him almost every Friday night from 7:30pm until they kicked us out, usually close to 10pm.&nbsp; I went to his classes that he held in a gymnasium, usually on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, on top of my training at Hombu dojo and at Sophia University Aikido Club.&nbsp; My desire to quit disappeared, and 29 years later, I\u2019m still doing Aikido.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is the story of how I met my Aikido instructor, Kato Hiroshi. He wasn\u2019t my first Aikido instructor, but he was my last. It was a fateful moment, in Japan and I was ready to give up on my dream, to learn Aikido. I was totally defeated, the wind knocked out of me, laying &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/how-i-met-the-most-amazing-aikido-instructor\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How I Met The Most Amazing Aikido Instructor?<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,27,30],"tags":[40,26,57,64,66,65,21,38,59],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei.png",1280,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei.png",1280,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei.png",1280,720,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-300x300.png",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-600x338.png",600,338,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-100x100.png",100,100,true],"shop_catalog":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-300x300.png",300,300,true],"shop_single":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-600x338.png",600,338,true],"shop_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-I-met-kato-sensei-100x100.png",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This is the story of how I met my Aikido instructor, Kato Hiroshi. He wasn\u2019t my first Aikido instructor, but he was my last. It was a fateful moment, in Japan and I was ready to give up on my dream, to learn Aikido. I was totally defeated, the wind knocked out of me, laying&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1011"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1016,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1011\/revisions\/1016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shinkikan.com\/houston-aikido-martial-arts\/aikido-houston-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}