The Aikido Dorobo
As many who have met him will say, my teacher, Takeguchi Sensei has a distinctive style of Aikido. Sensei is good at flicking people all over the place, yet the interface between him and his ukes is so deceptively gentle and light that people often come away feeling like they just experienced magic. "What happened? How did I get thrown so far away but I did not feel a thing?" As people are wondering what Sensei did, they get up with a big smile and an eagerness to try it again. Takeguchi Sensei has strong basic body movements very similar to that of the late Chiba Sensei. Instead of using physical strength to move his partners, he focuses on moving himself. "Remember: Action and reaction." I remember Sensei taught us, "When you apply an action on your partner, you will trigger a reaction from them. If you don't want them to resist you, you better not direct any force at them." His touch may feel gentle, but his techniques are subtle and very
