| The reasons for the success of Japanese martial arts in the west |
 It is almost impossible today to imagine a society devoid of any reference to Japanese martial arts. If you look close enough, you can realise that these are ubiquitous in the popular imagery and its consciousness. But the Japanese martial arts have infused western societies at an even more significant level, far beyond their obvious influence on literature, cinema, or even dance. The notions of honour, respect, strictness and self-sacrifice conjugated to a pragmatic and dreadful efficacy have helped to promote an entire system of values which seems to have implanted itself deeply and that does not seem to be going to disappear any time soon. Even though every civilisation has developed its own combat forms, very few have managed to export it as successfully as the Japanese. I would like to discuss today about the implantation of Japanese martial arts in Occident and to try to shed light on what made it such an unequalled success. |
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| Interview with Henry Kono |
 He was basing all this on something simple. That, I knew from day one...
These words belong to quite an extraordinary individual, Henry Kono Sensei who just celebrated his 80th birthday and 43 years of Aikido practice. Henry Kono is a Canadian citizen of Japanese parents who decided during his youth to visit his country of origin. Nothing really remarkable so far, apart from the fact that he ended up spending four years studying Aikido with the founder of the art, O Sensei Morihei Ueshiba. |
| Aikido - Unification of body and spirit |
 In Occident, we are the children of Cartesians. We cultivate intelligence but our body is sick, it is the victim of blockages and tensions. Hence, we understand a lot of things with our brains, we elaborate intricate and elegant theories, but as soon as it is time to turn words into concrete actions, we find it extremely hard...
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| The heart against the sword |
 "Extend your heart rather than your sword." This injunction of the Japanese Grandmaster Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, is incontestably relevant for men and women of the entire world. It is urgent to meditate about it at a moment when everywhere around us, violence extends its ravages. It savagely opposes peoples, ethnicities, religions and nations. After the horrors of two World Wars and the atrocities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wars keep raging on, propagating never ending killings, child mutilations, tearing of families, senseless massacres, destruction and vandalizing. The worst of it all is that violence penetrates even up to schools where children kill and injure teachers, supervisors and even comrades for no reasons. |
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