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Our Founders

"Aikido is the Way of Harmony.
It brings together people of all
races and manifests the
original form of all things."

O'Sensei

O'Sensei

o'sensei

The founder of Aikido was Master Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). He created Aikido as a path to universal harmony and world peace, believing that aikido was a way of attaining this goal, and that violence and aggression could be turned aside by harmony of spirit.

During his childhood and as a young man, O'Sensei studied sumo wrestling, jujitsu and swordsmanship. He fought in the war between Russia and Japan in the early part of the 20 th century, and was discharged from the army in 1906, when he returned home to farm and fish. He also pursued religious and philosophical studies, including Zen and Buddhism.

In 1915 he encountered Sokaku Takeda, the grand master of daito ryu aiki jutsu. Morihei Ueshiba was no match for Takeda, and subsequently he became Sokaku's student, studying intensely under his tutelage for many years.


In 1915 he encountered Sokaku Takeda, the grand master of daito ryu aiki jutsu. Morihei Ueshiba was no match for Takeda, and subsequently he became Sokaku's student, studying intensely under his tutelage for many years.

1925 marks the year O'Sensei discovered a deeper meaning to the martial arts he had been studying and a path he wished to explore and develop. He realised that by blending the highest ethics of mankind with the practice of martial arts, he could develop the practice into a truly defensive art in accordance with those ethics.

He went on to develop Aikido according to the principles of non-aggression and non-competitiveness. He felt that the true purpose of budo was love, love that cherishes and nourishes all beings.
maruyama sensei

Maruyama Sensei

Aikido Yuishinkai was founded by Master Koretoshi Maruyama in 1991. Koretoshi Maruyama was a full-time professional Aikido instructor under the tutelage of Morihei Ueshiba (O'Sensei), and has taught aikido and Ki principles in Japan and throughout the United States , Europe and Asia-Pacific. He has studied specifically how to heal and help people with Ki and use Ki in daily life.

Koretoshi Maruyama was born in Tokyo in 1936.

He graduated from the Economics Department of Keio University in March 1956, and joined his father's business. Koretoshi studied judo, wrestling, and also trained in weight lifting and boxing.

While at university, he joined the Keio University Aikido club, and found a martial art he had been searching for - one that didn't depend on strength, and one that taught the right attitude of mind.

 

In 1972, Koretoshi Maruyama became the Chief Instructor of the Ki no Kenkyukai, founded by by Koichi Tohei Sensei, who granted Maruyama Sensei the rank of 8 th dan.

In 1991, he resigned from his position, and undertook a decade of study in a temple in Saitama Prefecture , intensely training in the philosophy and practice that "You are fundamentally Mind". He left the temple in 2001, and subsequently founded Aikido Yuishinkai, which he continues to develop.