The Seminar was distinguished by harmony and serenity which were established between Homma Kancho and all the present people.

Also this year all proceeds were offered to an Italian community support association.

I want to underline the fact that every time when Homma Kancho comes to Italy, heading out a long trip of 9.000 km, he decides to offer the incoming of his Seminars to Humanitarian purposes, and more than this the incoming are always devolved to an Italian Institute and not to one of his projects.

This time all proceeds were given to the Children Hospital in Parma (Ospedale dei Bambini di Parma).
The association Aikido Humanitarian Active Network (A.H.A.N.), founded by Homma Kancho in 1978, is active in several Countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Philippines, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Guatemala, Ireland and Turkey. Homma Kancho purpose is not to open new Dojos with Nippon Kan brand, but to help people, especially children, to have a better future.

I know that I’m a beginner, I have in fact been practicing Aikido for few years, and I’m sure that many of the people who will read these words started this beautiful experience earlier than me, but during my personal growth I had the chance to become Uchi Deshi of Homma Kacho, spending more than one year in his Dojo in Denver (Colorado).

I want to underline the fact that I like Aikido as a complete Martial Art, I do not simply like the way one person practices Aikido.

Before taking the first flight to the United States, I had the chance to be Uchi Deshi in the Dojo of Daniel Toutain Sensei (6th Dan of Morihiro Saito Shihan) and to practice with different Master among them: Hitohiro Saito Sensei, Renato Visentini (4th Dan Aikikai) Giorgio Oscari Sensei (5th Dan Aikikai), Alessandro Tittarelli Sensei (7th Dan Dentoo Iwama Ryu) Paolo Nicola Corralini Shihan (7th Dan Aikikai), Mark Van Meerendonk (6th Dan Aikikai), to follow some Stage in these last years with Yoshimitzu Yamada Shihan, Inagachi Shihan, and to visit and practice in the Dojo of Stephanie Jap Sensei (6th Dan of Morihiro Saito Shihan).

I really appreciate and respect each of them for what they are doing and for what they are teaching and shearing with passion after many years of study and practice, something that cost them hard work and effort.
For this reason I want to thank each of them, for the time they gave to me, even unconsciously, for the message that all of them carry with themselves and share with all people who, like me, still have a long way to go and rally want to learn new things.

This is one of the reasons which push me to take a look around and find in each one of these Great Sensei the special thing they want to teach.

Personally I never met someone keen about the arts who visits the Exhibition of only one Painter, and no Music Fan listening to songs of just one Artist.
For sure, if I decided to come back to Denver six times in four years with just two keiko gi in my luggage, this means that I have my preferences. It is in fact for the message which I can “read” behind Homma Kancho’s teaching that I decided to resign twice and dedicate myself 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the study of Aikido as a Philosophy of life in Homma Kancho’s Dojo.

Yes, because his teachings do not stop once you are out of the tatami, on the contrary it was exactly out of the mat that I had to demonstrate to be risen to the occasion.

To be honest, when I left for the US the first time, I didn’t know who Homma Kancho was, but it had been enough to visit the web page: www.nippon_kan.org to understand that behind this Great Teacher there is a Great Man, and from this moment everything started.

For this reason I can’t accept to hear rumours saying that Gaku Homma Kancho during his Seminars does not respect O’ Sensei or Morhiro Saito Shihan.

Last year during the Uchi Deshi Marathon held at the Nippon Kan Dojo in Denver I had the chance to meet, speak and eat sitting at the same table with the greatest scholar of Aikido; Homma Kancho in fact decided to invite Stanlei Pranlei Sensei for a theoretical lesson on the History of O’ Sensei Morihei Ueshiba and more in general on Aikido.

All other Uchi Deshi and me made the Dojo, where we use to practice, become a theatre where more than 100 people could take part to this amazing lesson with historical transparencies and could hear the teaching of Stanley Pranin Sensei.
After that I thought a lot about that and I made myself a couple of questions or better to say three:
Is it possible that O’Sensei, the Founder of Aikido accepted in his Dojo not only as a student, but also as a inside student, in his house, a guy without being sure that he could have relayed on him?

I don’t think so. I’m sure that despite I believe that O’Sensei was a Man, I think he had a huge experience, an extraordinary talent, a great sensitivity and that he was able to easily read inside the heart of the people around him.

The young Morhiro Saito, who had been living very close to the house of the Founder for several years, would have allowed that a complete stranger had looked after his Teacher until the day of His death if he had not trusted in him.

My answer is again no. It is more likely that also Morhiro Saito Shihan had complete confidence in the young Gaku Homma.

And then, coming to nowadays, someone like Stanley Pranin, who made of Aikido his reason for leaving, could teach and eat together with Gaku Homma Kancho if he could only thing that he is not respecting the Founder of Aikido or for Morhiro Saito Shihan?
My answer is always no.

Everyone is free to think what they want, I’m not the one who wants to change someone’s mind; on the contrary I think that different ideas are synonym of freedom and this text is thought for those people who haven’t got any precise idea and before taking any decision it is right for them to hear different versions.

For sure none of us were in Iwama in the ’60s but what I think is that the Founder of Aikido was able to read easily in the eyes and the heart of one of his student and if he had seen any danger, even future, he would have never accepted any stranger in his house as a live-in student.

Therefore I ask everybody who had similar thoughts to stop and think about my words instead of abuse ideas or concepts.

It is not an offence to say that the Founder was a Man and that as a Man he was subject to the pace of the time.

For me it is an incentive to try do my best, improve myself, and perhaps try to reach this level in a hundred years.

Think about the Founder as a God could on the contrary mean that we want to hide ourselves behind something which is unreachable so that we do not even try to do something to improve ourselves, or if we think that we are already perfect, to improve what surround us,
this because we would than think that we will never reach His level.

To this end I remember a sentence of Homma Kancho who made me think:
“it is not the Martial Art which makes a Man, but a Man who makes Martial Art; I do not need puppets who imitate myself in my Dojo, but I need Men, Men who can take their decisions and their own road”.

I like to think that O’Sensei saw some hope in this young guy. What is sure it is that since then, Gaku Homma Kancho has been developing his mission without asking anything of anybody, and his mission for me is to give some Hope also to those people who are not as lucky as me.

Written by
Michele Zanrei ? Mikeychan
February 2013
Parma, Italy