Mitsuteru Ueshiba Waka Sensei begins teaching at Hombu Dojo
As of April 1, 2011 the Hombu Dojo training schedule will see an important change: in fact, from the beginning of April the Hombu Dojo Teaching Panel will also include Mitsuteru Ueshiba, who from April 8th will take his father’s place of the father as responsible of the 18:30 to 19:30 lesson.
Mitsuteru Ueshiba, 31, is the son of the third Doshu and current Aikikai leader, Moriteru Ueshiba. Following the traditional system of succession adopted in martial arts, it is expected that Mitsuteru Ueshiba succeeded his father Moriteru as Doshu, becoming the fourth Aikido Guide after Morihei, Kisshomaru and Moriteru Ueshiba.
Mitsuteru Ueshiba is the grandson of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. In recent years, the hierarchies of Hombu Dojo began to give him his first responsibilities, so we have seen him in action in Russia, New Zealand and Hawaii, as well as an assistant to his father on several occasions. In addition, since April 2010 has been Dojo-Cho of the Aikikai dojo of Iwama in the Ibaraki prefecture, the old dojo of O’Sensei’s that came back to the Ueshiba family after the death of Morihiro Saito Sensei.
Mitsuteru Waka Sensei is commonly called Waka Sensei, to distinguish him from his father, an honorific term that means Young Master that was also applied to Moriteru Ueshiba in relation to his father Ueshiba Kisshomaru when he was still alive.
While maybe only a small beginning, from April 2011 begins a new era in Aikido. We wish Waka Sensei Ueshiba Mitsuteru good luck and every success.
[...] city of the world – Tokyo! Up at 4.30 am to make to the sunrise practice at Hombu dojo with Waka Sensei (Doshu’s son and newest addition to the teaching staff at Hombu). Shop, shop, shop, then an [...]