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| Interview
with Sensei Henry Ellis |
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This
month MI Magazine has the pleasure
of talking to Sensei Ellis of
the Ellis Schools of Traditional
Aikido, who has been active
in Aikido since 1957. In this
exclusive interview Sensei Ellis
talks about Abbe Sensei, learning
Aikido, Aikido as it was in
the old "golden" days
and much more...
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| MI:
Thank you for taking the time to speak to
MI Magazine. Can I begin Sensei Ellis by asking
your age and rank? |
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| I
will be 69 years young on May 3rd 2005. Rank:
5th dan. |
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| MI:
Why and when did you begin training in Aikido? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: 1957.I was a time trial racing
cyclist and a member of the first team of
the Middlesex Road Club. I had a girlfriend
who had a younger brother who wanted to start
Judo in late 1956. She asked me to go along
with him, as he was too nervous to go on his
own. I went with him and found the experience
appealed to me. I started Judo and the girls
brother only stayed a few weeks, In 1957 I
saw the legendary master Kenshiro Abbe sensei
teaching Aikido, I decided to try this new
art of Aikido, so for approx one year I did
both Judo and Aikido, eventually I decided
to concentrate totally on Aikido, almost 50
years later I am still involved. |
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| MI:
When you saw Kenshiro Abbe Sensei perform
Aikido for the first time, what did you think? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: At that time I thought that
Judo was great and I had also seen Abbe
sensei teach Judo but his Aikido was
different, not wide and flowing as we
see a lot today, but close to the body
with total body control. My immediate
reaction was one of wonder and a surge
of excitement, as I just knew this was
for me. A lot of the Aikido we see now
rely on the harmony of their uke, not
with Abbe sensei, harmonize or not you
were going and you knew that. |
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| MI:
Can you tell our readers a little about Aikido
in its early UK days? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: We hear of dojo's being referred
to as a Hell Dojo including the Hombu dojo,
but without doubt the Hut Dojo was the Hell
Dojo of all Hell Dojo's. The Hut was the first
Aikido Dojo in the UK. The Aikido students
were market porters and nightclub bouncers,
there were some really tough guys training
in those days,
The
training was very physical, teachers such
as Kenshiro Abbe sensei and Ken Williams
Sensei spoke few words and as Abbe sensei
would often say, " My English is poor
but my shinai speaks fluently " a whack
with a shinai on a certain part of the body
was a clue to where you were going wrong.
Like it or not you certainly learned quickly.
I fitted well into this very strict regime
because that kind of discipline was all
that I had known all my young life as the
son of a tough coalface miner. On reaching
third Kyu (green belt) I was promoted to
assistant to Sensei K Williams who was now
the National Coach for British Aikido. Students
often say that there is no kicking or punching
in Aikido, there was in those early days
in the UK and continues in my school today.
The class always started with Karate style
kicking and punching up and down the mat
with a shinai to make sure you kept in time.
This would be followed by 200 press-ups
on the backs of the wrists, with fingers
pointing both inwards and outwards. The
training sessions were hard and non-stop,
on occasions we would try the Aikido for
real in the Hut Public House car park.
Sunday mornings were for special training
for high grades only, the dojo doors would
be locked and the dan grades would test
their techniques for real against each other.
There were only eight dan grades for Aikido
in the whole of the UK and they were all
in this one dojo, the spirit and camaraderie
was such that visitors often said that it
felt as if you reach out and take the atmosphere
by the handful. That is something I have
never experienced anywhere since those days.
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| MI:
Do you think training like how it was done
at the "Hut" would be accepted nowadays? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: Definitely
not, they were a very special
bunch, if we taught like that
today we would have all the politically
correct Muppets knocking on the
door followed by the tree huggers.
There is no doubt that this was
a special time and Abbe sensei
and the dan grades at the Hut
were moulded for this. I don't
expect students to train as we
did in those early days, I would
just like to see a little more
commitment |
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| MI:
Aikido was a lot different when you began,
why do you think it has changed so much in
terms of training techniques? |
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Sensei
Ellis: You ask me how Aikido has changed
from those early days. That is a question
that I still ask myself. I am not sure of
the answer. I think it has changed a great
deal with the obsession of the application
of Ki in Aikido, I recall in the early days
asking Abbe sensei about Ki when he made a
rare reference to Ki during class, he replied
" I will speak to you about Ki when you
are dan grade, every technique I teach I am
teaching you Ki within the technique, no need
to speak of it ".
A great deal of Aikido is almost quasi religious
with talk of love for your aggressor; you
try telling a mugger who is threatening you
that you love him.
One
evening after class in the tough area of
the Kings Cross Dojo in London, Abbe Sensei
left the dojo and walking on his own was
accosted by four muggers who demanded "
Give us yer wallet " Abbe sensei stood
for a moment and quickly weighed up the
opposition before removing the wallet from
his inside jacket pocket and throwing it
at his own feet. The would be muggers were
unsure of this action, and demanded that
he kick the wallet towards them, Abbe sensei
replied " No! I am prepared to die
for my wallet! Are you?" The calm and
the power of Abbe sensei
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have been very disturbing to these yobs
and they gallantly threw a few swear
words while making a wise retreat. Not
a lot of love and harmony from Abbe
sensei, simply an attitude and language
these thugs understood. Most students
have no heart for hard training anymore
and whilst I accept that Aikido will
change with time I am not happy with
a lot that I see today, There is too
much emphasis on grades and titles,
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Abbe
sensei would often say " Grades are unimportant,
you are what you are and nothing more ".
A Japanese teacher once said to me "
There are so many dojo's that call themselves
martial arts dojo's, they are not martial
arts dojo's they are social clubs ".
In 1967 Tadashi Abe Sensei went back to Japan
and the Hombu dojo, he was very disappointed
at how the Aikido there had changed, he looked
around the dojo and apologised to all the
ladies present and stated " This is not
Aikido, this is Aikido for women " threw
his diploma's on the mat and walked out never
to return. This story is related in Aikido
Journal. I also studied with Tadashi Abe who
was not related to Abbe Sensei. He was a most
intimidating martial artist and totally fearless..
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| MI:
What
teachings did Abbe Sensei give to explain
the use of Ki and its relation to Aikido? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: Not much really that I recall,
he would show that the application of
Ki was a part of Aikido, his attitude
was simply that he was teaching you
how to breath during movement and application,
why keep talking about it. Do it
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| MI:
You have trained with some legendary figures,
including Abbe Sensei, Nakazono Sensei and
Williams Sensei, How do you remember your
time on the mat with those mentioned? |
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Sensei
Ellis: Kenshiro Abbe was the man
who I would say I admired above all
others and influenced my martial arts
career the most, I always felt when
Abbe sensei was on the mat that I was
a privileged student. I still treasure
those memories today.
Nakazono Sensei was also a very special
person who's influence on British Aikido
will always leave its indelible mark
on all that knew him and their teachings
to students |
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that
only know him from our stories. I met with
Nakazono Sensei in Sante Fe New Mexico in
1994 and that was a very special occasion
for me as sadly Nakazono died in 1997
I
remember in 1963 when Nakazono sensei asked
me in front of a large seminar to punch him
in the stomach, Out of respect I thought that
I would pull the punch a little and still
make it look good as I did not want to hurt
him, he immediately realised what I had done,
he was angry and threatened to hit me if I
did not commit myself totally, I thought OK
you asked for this and I went in with everything
I had, all I know is that I did not make contact
with him and I finished up sitting half way
up a very large open fire place with my head
up the chimney and my Gi covered in soot.
Sensei Ken Williams was my direct teacher
and mentor in those early days, he was a small
man who had the total respect of every student,
he was special with that aura about him that
very few people have in life, I spoke to him
last week for the first time in many years
and I still felt that sense of admiration
and respect that I held in those very early
days. |
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| MI:
Did Sensei Williams have a particular method
of teaching? |
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Sensei
Ellis: Yes he did, it was hard and positive
and also very powerful, he is now teaching
Ki Aikido but behind him he has the power
of his traditional training, I suppose really
he followed the teaching of Abbe sensei but
with his own interpretations.
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| MI:
Have
you ever trained in Japan? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: No, I am very proud to have
my certificates signed by O'Sensei yet
I never did get to travel to Japan,
I once asked Nakazono Sensei if he would
give his permission and a letter to
visit the Hombu dojo, he asked "
Why do you want to go to Japan?? "
I tried to explain my reasons and he
replied, " There are no teachers
left in Japan, all the best teachers
are travelling the world teaching "
I never approached the subject again. |
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| MI:
What
are your thoughts on O'Sensei? |
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| Sensei
Ellis:All the early teachers
were direct students of O'Sensei
so the teaching and philosophy
of that time was that of O'Sensei.
The old teachers would often speak
with great reverence for O'Sensei
and of course that would in turn
have a profound effect upon our
studies. I have often stated that
most people are doing the Aikido
of O'Sensei as an old man which
is greatly influenced by age and
his philosophical |
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yet we should be in no doubt that
as a younger man he was a very
powerful man and truly a modern
samurai, just look at some of
the photos of him in his 50's
and you will see the power and
spirit of this great teacher. |
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| MI:
Can
you see any changes to come for
Aikido in the future? |
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| I
would like to see it go full circle
to being a martial art again one
day. I saw a sixth dan recently
with six attackers, sorry I mean
uke's, as they came forward they
were just break-falling towards
this 6th dan, he appeared to be
quite pleased with himself, I
found it very embarrassing for
Aikido. I saw another 6th dan
throwing a uke all over the mat
with his big toe, I expected some
laughter until I realised he was
very serious. I saw another 5th
dan teaching Ikkyo, he left his
uke with his right arm in the
air as he left the mat to collect
some large red plastic sticky
arrows which he placed all around
his feet to indicate his direction
until his uke told him the arrows
were the wrong way round. The
mat looked like a weather map.
Yes I have many concerns. |
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| MI:
How
do you spend your time when you
are not doing something related
to Aikido? |
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Sensei
Ellis: I like to draw
and paint in the artistic
sense. I am also an avid
reader on ancient history
and I enjoy nothing more
than to visit castles and
museums.
I have not had the time
to spend on those interests
for a while with so much
happening in my Aikido.
The book Positive Aikido
has now been published and
I receive a lot of correspondence
from that quarter, I have
had a long battle to preserve
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protect the proud history of British
Aikido in the well known "
British Aikido Controversy "
now the truth has been established
without any doubts. I am now involved
in the " Kenshiro Abbe Celebration
Seminar May 14th 2005 Crystal
Palace London " after that
I would like nothing better than
to sit back and either paint or
read. |
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| MI:
If
you could invite any six people
to dinner who would you choose
and why? |
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| Sensei
Ellis: Actors and musicians
do not impress me so I would not
consider anyone from that area.
I would like to sit down with
people that I know are honest
with proven integrity. I would
invite the old dan grades from
the early days at the Hut, knowing
that there would never be a pause
in the conversation, which would
flow with the wine. I would invite
Sensei Williams, as he was the
man that made all the early Aikido
possible. Also Sensei Haydyn Foster
who's deep throated laughter is
contagious which would add to
the atmosphere, and Sensei Ralph
Reynolds who's sober judgment
would help to keep order. Sensei
Eric Dollimore who taught me a
very important lesson in life,
never under estimate anyone after
he threw me through the office
wall in the dojo one Sunday morning
after a real fight, he could throw
me out if I got out of hand. I
would like to include Sensei Dave
Rogers from New Mexico USA and
the author of the book Positive
Aikido; he could monitor all of
the evening's conversations and
write another book.I would finally
invite Sensei Derek Eastman who
has been my closest friend for
over 47 years. He would make sure
there was no food or drink left
to clear away the next day. |
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