The Super Sempai

My beloved teacher, Clyde Takeguchi Sensei, started practicing Aikido when he was 15.  This year, 2023, marks his 65th year in Aikido.  

At the 2023 New Year Kagami Biraki at Hombu Dojo, Takeguchi Sensei was promoted to 8th degree black belt.  Given his seniority, both in terms of time-in and ranking, Sensei is a super sempai in the Aikido world.  

Sensei said that he was always interested in martial arts.  As a child, he was fascinated by Boxing and Karate.  However, the Buddhist temple near his childhood home in Hawaii was offering only Aikido classes.  The young teenager settled for it.  

Some people manage to be at the right place at the right time.  When young Takeguchi Sensei was still living in Hawaii, he witnessed the visits by Hombu delegations to promote Aikido:  First, it was just Koichi Tohei.  Then, a larger group arrived with O Sensei.  More visits ensued over the years.  Even then, as Sensei recalled, Koichi Tohei was already doing something very different from everybody else.  "What he was doing more than just physical moves," Sensei recounted.  "He was the best Aikido student I have ever seen."

Sensei said it really blew his mind watching demos and attending classes.  "My teachers used to chuck me around.  When the Hombu group came, O Sensei's students flipped my teachers around.  And then, we all watched O Sensei flick his students around like they were nothing.  Whatever people tried to do, O Sensei just sent them flying left and right.  It was unbelievable!"

Sensei's recount made me think of a funny story he told about what happened at his dojo in the early days.

Sensei said that, many times, people came to ask to challenge him, one on one.  He never turned them down.  "But I am about to teach a class now.  If you want to fight me, you have to take my class first.  After class, we can do it, and there will be just you and me."  

Before class started, Sensei assigned his top student to partner with the challenger.  "I tell my student to beat the guy up." Sensei chuckled.  Then, during the class, he used the same student as uke during demos and he whipped the student up.  

By the time class was over, Sensei looked around:  The challenger was nowhere to be found.  Sensei never had to fight a challenger.  

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