The Uchideshi Interview with Jacques Payet

Jacques Payet has been a student of Aikido since 1980, when he first moved to Japan to learn under one the Aikido greatest, Gozo Shioda. It was during this time that he became the longest serving foreign uchideshi to serve at the Yoshinkan. In the Yoshinkan organisation he achieved the rank of Hachidan (8th dan) and the title of Shihan. Today Payet sensei is the Head Instructor of the Mugenjuku, his own dojo based in Kyoto, Japan. He is also the creator of a well-known Senshusei course, the translator of several important Aikido works and an author himself. In this book we retrace the rich martial path that led him from Shioda sensei to us: a human adventure, a daily challenge, physical and mental, a unique training that has shaped him for ever. Table of Contents: From Seminary to Martial Arts. "Gozo! Gozo!" Gozo Shioda: Man and Teacher. Uchideshi - Walking with the Master. A Shining Beacon in the Dark Night. The Race to the Popularisation of Aikido. A Scientific Approach to Teaching. Becoming an Aikido Teacher. Troubles Rock the Yoshinkan. The Senshusei Course. On Weapons Training. The Importance of Retaining a Martial Edge. Spiritualism in Aikido and the Shugyo. Paying the Price. Is Aikido becoming a "Koryu"?