Saotome Sensei's Aikido speech in Kumamoto, October 2023

Mitsugi Saotome was part of the last cohort of uchi deshi who lived and trained at Hombu Dojo while Morihei Ueshiba was alive. He immigrated to the United States in the 1970s, where he has lived ever since, and built an Aikikai-affiliated organization of dojos, the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. In October of 2023 Saotome Sensei went to Japan to teach and visit. His last stop was Kumamoto City, where he taught at the Aishinkan's annual October bridge seminar. At the seminar banquet, Saotome Sensei, now 86 years old and still very strong, shared some thoughts, starting on what it means to be a student in the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba, but ultimately on what the purpose of Aikido training is.
A note about the subtitles: Sensei is not a native English speaker, but English is his preferred language. I did my best to capture his words as he chose them, with only a few attempts to interpret.

[@aungmin8832]

I learned Aikido since 1964 under Master U Thaung Din of Burma. Now I practice Ai and ki more with just necessary do. Ai Society is my initiative and will pass on to younger generation for building peace and harmony for the whole world. Engineering World's Peace. Hope our Ai will spread allover the world. Thank you very much for this very necessary video for Engineering World's Peace. Only correct method of teaching Martial Arts with Master Ueshiba's vision could save this world from hate and aggression.

[@KarlKarsnark]

Thank you for sharing. Saotome, Shihan still looks and sounds great, especially for being nearly 90 years old. I would encourage everyone to study some of his instructional videos, books, or attend a seminar, if at all possible. Happy New Year!

[@linarkamash6926]

Айкидо единственное из видов единоборств которое соответствует нормам Ислама