Yoshimitsu Yamada

Yoshimitsu Yamada (b. February 17, 1938) is an aikido instructor. He is ranked 8th dan in the Aikikai and is the chief instructor at the dojo New York Aikikai.

Life

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Yamada became interested in aikido through his father's cousin, Tadashi Abe, who trained at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo and was a friend of Koichi Tohei. He entered Hombu Dojo as an uchi deshi in 1955 at the age of 17. His exposure to westerners and ability to speak English made him a natural choice to teach to American soldiers. In 1966 Yamada and his family hosted Virginia Mayhew, an aikido practitioner from New York. Although the original New York Aikikai was founded in 1961 and led by Yasuo Ohara, when Yamada moved to New York he assumed control and move the dojo from its 19th Street local to its present location.

In those days there was no other aikido teacher (with the exception of the original NY Aikikai founder Yasuo Ohara) from Japan on the east coast of the US, and Yamada would travel weekly to Boston, with frequent trips to Philadelphia and points south as well. In 1966 some of the burden was relieved when he invited Mitsunari Kanai to take over the small group in Boston. Over time Yamada's students have grown to have students of their own, and have risen to ranks as high as 7th dan. In 1988 Yamada invited Seiichi Sugano to join the dojo, making it one of the few dojo outside of Japan with two 8th dan shihan in residence. In 2004 the New York Aikikai celebrated its 40th anniversary with a summer camp at Colgate university with many shihan and Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba in attendance. Yamada continues to keep an active teaching and travelling schedule, holding seminars in the U.S. as well as Latin America, Russia, France, Germany and other points around the world.

Yamada is well known for his clear and strong basic technique. Beyond his technical ability, he also possesses a gift for passing on his knowledge. His students have become some of the most well-known and high-ranking aikidoka in the Americas. He teaches seminars all over the world where thousands of students attend his classes. He was a direct student of the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, for more than ten years.

Currently, he is chairman of the board of the United States Aikido Federation and the Latin America Aikido Federation. He is the author of the book "Aikido Complete", and has made multiple aikido training tapes, including the "Power and the Basics" series, which outlines the requirements for rank testing of all levels.

Quotes

* "We must keep the spirit of budo no matter how we practice."
* He has been quoted as advising some students at a seminar to "Put the harm back in harmony"

Trivia

* He is featured in a 1987 movie "Masterblaster" in which he played the role of Yamada. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089563/ Masterblaster (1987) ] ]
* He also appears as himself in the novel "Big Apple 2 Bites" by Arunabha Sengupta in which a lot of action takes place in the New York Aikikai Dojo. [ [http://www.amazon.com/Big-Apple-Bites-Arunabha-Sengupta/dp/818881198X/ Amazon.com: Big Apple 2 Bites: Books: Arunabha Sengupta ] ]

See also

*Akira Tohei
*Kazuo Chiba
*Mitsunari Kanai

References

External links

* [http://www.nyaikikai.com New York Aikikai]
* [http://www.usaikifed.com/ United States Aikido Federation]
* [http://www.usaikifed.com/dir-fla.html Latin America Aikido Federation]