I regret to announce that Alan Ruddock Sensei, direct student of O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba has passed away last night in Dublin. I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

Alan has been a very inspirational teacher and a good friend over the years. I might not be practicing Aikido today if I had not met him over 10 years ago, at a time of great uncertainty in my practice. I will remember fondly our encounters in Ireland and England, particularly the long evening discussing about what Japan and Aikido were when he was there and what they are today. If you did not have the chance to know Alan did for Karate and Aikido in Ireland, read this interview that he kindly agreed to do with me and meet a true giant of Aikido.

I had conducted this interview with him in 2008. I was starting an Aikido magazine at the time and as always, he was very supportive and agreed to let me interview him in order to get the magazine started. I hope that you will enjoy it and if you did not have the chance to know him, that it will allow to know a bit more about this very special gentleman.

Michel Erb is an exemplary practitioner. He belongs to a generation of Aikidokas that were instrumental in getting our art through the 21st century. He constantly travels the roads of France, Switzerland and Germany through the numerous seminars that he teaches and he is invariably present whenever his Master, Christian Tissier Shihan travels through Europe. Michel accepted to share with us his vision of Aikido and of the techniques that he forged in the crucible of the teaching of Christian Tissier.

This article is a bit special since that for once, I will be the one to answer questions. I went last June to give a one day course in Besançon (France) as I was invited there by my friend Aurore who used to work with me at Aikidoka Magazine. I had a wonderful time teaching over there and was touched by the fact that seven students from the DAA made the trip to France especially for this occasion.

Last December, the beautiful city of Rome became the theater of an event that is to mark in our Aikido calendars. This course was in fact the occasion of a visit by William Gleason, 6th dan Aikikai and close student of Yamaguchi Sensei for his very first seminar in Europe. We took advantage of an informal lunch in the Italian capital to ask him many of the questions that had been going through our minds for a while. Rather than going through his Aikido journey, we decided to orientate the discussion towards more universal issues in terms of Aiki.

Not long ago, I got the opportunity to have a chat with one of the most notorious female Aikido experts, Micheline Tissier, who holds the rank of 6th dan Aikikai. She was the amongst the first European women to get awarded such a high grade by Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba. She is also one of the too rare women that occupy a technical function within their federation. I was absolutely delighted when she accepted to answer my questions and discovered that she was of a very direct and honest character, never dodging a question and she often surprised me with the sharpness of the views she expressed on many subjects.

Cyril Lagrasta, 4th dan Aikikai, is the head instructor of the Dublin Aikikai Aikido, a group that he started over 10 years ago. It is important because it gives the opportunity to a real pioneer to express himself about all the work he has done to spread a certain conception of Aikido outside of France. Too few of these people make it to the pages of the French magazines so I guess that was my way to express all my gratitude to him for what he has done for me and my Aikido these last few years.

Meet Philippe Orban, 6th dan Aikikai and very close student of Christian Tissier for many years. Although he could have stayed in the comfort of teaching regular classes at the Cercle Tissier in Vincennes, Philippe decided to move abroad and open a dojo in Leipzig (Germany), almost ten years ago. In this interview, he kindly agreed to share his experience with us and to explain his conception of Aikido and how it fits in the way it is being practised on the other side of the Rhine.

John Rogers (Seán Mac Ruairí) is the senior instructor of the Irish Aikido Federation – Ireland Aikikai. He holds the rank of 6th dan awarded on the recommendation by the Aikikai Hombu dojo. On the occasion of Ireland Aikikai's annual spring course, he granted me an interview and spoke of his involvement in Aikido and the history of Aikido in Ireland. This year, Kuribayashi shihan was the guest instructor of Ireland Aikikai on the occasion of its 30th annual spring course. 2007 also marks the 35th anniversary of Aikido practice in Ireland as well as the 20th anniversary of Rogers sensei's establishment of a fulltime aikido dojo in Dublin.