Website updated
  04 Feb 2018

Senta Yamada Sensei (1924-2010)

"First of all, sometimes through fear, we learn Aikido, so we can defend, fight and defeat powerful opponents.

 After achieving mastery of Aikido and discarding our fears and ego, in this place exists love without limits."

"En primer lugar, a veces a través del miedo, nos enteramos de Aikido, para que podamos defender, luchar y derrotar a los oponentes poderosos. 

Después de conseguir el dominio del Aikido y desechando nuestros miedos y el ego, en este lugar existe el amor sin límites."

"Tout d'abord, parfois par la peur, nous apprenons l'Aïkido, afin que nous puissions défendre, combattre et vaincre des adversaires puissants. 

Après avoir obtenu la maîtrise de l'aïkido et le rejet de nos peurs et de l'ego, dans ce lieu existe amour sans limites."

Aikido - Way of Harmony and Love

Senta Yamada Sensei first came over to the UK in 1959 to establish a Martial Arts Centre to teach Judo and subsequently Aikido.

Yamada sensei's intention, however, when he first opened the dojo, was not just to teach martial arts to people in the UK but to improve the world around us, especially those who were suffering and in very poor circumstances.

He has always believed that teaching the right mind through the martial arts, and train people from the young age will help change the world for the better and help those people in need.

Through his entire lifetime, Yamada sensei always worked hard to achieve this goal. This group, "Aikido Aid", has been formed by his friends and students who wish to carry on his aspiration.

Jita Kyoei and Seiryoku Zenyo

Where did Yamada Sensei's energy all come from? In his mind, all this is based on the principle of :

• Jita Kyoei - mutual welfare and prosperity

• Seiryoku Zenyo - to strive to make the maximum efficient use of one's energy

Kano Jigoro Shihan

Kano Jigoro Shihan, the Father of Judo, also advocated this principle. What Kano Shihan wished to teach was not just good martial art techniques but also how to improve peoples mind and body through training and practising good Judo. He wished that his students would become capable of being useful in the community, gain the ability to return benefit and contribute to the society. The idea of Jita kyoei is to benefit not only to oneself but also to others and to build a society for everyone. If one is capable of understanding other people's circumstances and becoming considerate and helpful to others, this will lead to a mutual trust. Therefore, when one attains the real meaning of Kano Shihan's preaching, they will find the maximum satisfaction when they have done something to benefit the others and society.

What can we do for our next generation?

An ultimate goal is the friendship between countries, peace in the world and mutual trust between them. The technological and industrial development could not have been possible without our predecessors efforts. Nothing in this world has been coincidental or happened naturally. We must bear this in mind and think about what we can do for our children and grandchildren to live in a wonderful world.

Yamada Sensei's wish was that his work would not end after Sri Lanka but his goal was to spread this idea to the entire world.