Tamura Nobuyoshi Shihan, 8th Dan, passed away on the night of July 9th, 2010. He was 77 years old. He entered Hombu Dojo in 1953 and has been practicing Aikido for 57 years. He started Aikido when he was only twenty. His wife is a fellow Aikidoka and student of O-Sensei. He is an inspiration because his professional and personal lives centered around Aikido.

I like the story of Tamura Shihan and the two main Aikido organizations of France. His story parallels our own. Read, and you know will know what I mean.

“The French Aikido Federation was split into two in the 1980s purely because of political reasons. Those who decided to stay loyal to Tamura were for an independent aikido federation created the fr:FFAB (Fédération Française d’Aïkido et de Budo) from scratch, while those who preferred to remain under the Judo federation (FFJDA or Fédération Francaise de Judo et Disciplines Associées), later became independent as the fr:FFAAA (Fédération Française d’Aïkido, d’Aïkibudo et Affinitaires) under the technical leadership of Christian Tissier. The two once rival federations are now regrouped under the UFA (Union Française d’Aïkido).”1

We will all get old and die, so it is important to do the Aikido which brings us the most happiness and love for our fellow person.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobuyoshi_Tamura [↩]