Centrum Jujutsu-Aikijutsu "KOBUDO KENKYUKAI" w Polsce

Alan Ruddock - A journey through the Arts

As a young 13 year old Dubliner Alan Ruddock began a journey through the Martial Arts that would eventually lead to him spending several years training in Japan under Morihei Ueshiba (the founder of Aikido). - An honour shared by no other Irishman. His contact with the Arts began when he joined an Irish Judo Association club in Parkgate Street under Seamus Kavanagh (then 2nd Dan). This initial training in Judo, coupled with some Ju Jitsu and Unarmed combat, led Ruddock to his first brush with Aikido." I had had a little inkling of Aikido through my large collection of Judo and Karate books. I then saw Yamada Sensei put a dramatically painful Nikyo (wrist lock) on Seamus Kavanagh in the I.J.A. changing room in Parkgate Street. That certainly aroused my interest! ".

In the early 60's Judo was thought of as somewhat magical art - a means for the little guy to triumph. Karate was virtually unknown and Aikido was even more obscure - really Far Out. "By 1960 Alan had moved over to Karate and started to attend courses run by the British Karate Federation." I began to attend course in England run by the British Karate Federation. I started and ran the first Shotokan dojo in Ireland in the early sixties in an old training hall near the Inchicore C.I.E. works. I was also training myself from Karate books. The B.K.F. instructor was Tetsugi Murakami 5th Dan who was based in Paris and was a protege of Moshizuki Sensei's Yoseikan Aikido School in Japan. Murakami Sensei taught a Shotokan style of Karate and a little Aikido. Murakami Sensei visited Dublin several times. Students at that time included many of my personal friends such as Michael O Doherty, John Robinson, John Langley, Richard Murphy - and quite a few of the Judo boys from Parkgate Street - including the bold Anto Clark. I was designated Japan Karate Association representative for Ireland around that time. My first real experience of Aikido techniques was with Murakami Sensei. His use of 'something else' in his freestyle Kumite sessions and his occasional lesson in Yoseikan style Aikido - really put me onto the Aikido trail.

] In 1964 I decided to go to Japan to learn Aikido - I had been in the Merchant Navy as a radio operator for two years and knew of the existence of the Aikikai Hombo Dojo through Tohei Sensei's Book- Aikido. When my ship visited Yokohama I high tailed it to the dojo....... I met Henry Kono on the afternoon of that visit and I stayed to watch the evening class. Whilst I did not see Morihei Ueshiba (O-Sensei) on that occasion - I did get to see some other Sensei including Saotome. I also met Ken Clottier and Fred Wainwright who had gone to Japan to see the 1964 Olympic Judo - arrived too late and decided to stay and study Aikido. I resolved to go home and earn enough money (as a security guard) and return to study Aikido full time. During that year I discovered Ken Williams Aikido Association in England and attended the 1964 Summer School with Nakazono Sensei 7th Dan. The first time I actually trained in Tokyo was on my return in early 1965 when I began training at the Hombo Dojo in Shinjuku. It was just straight into the regular class, one technique after another, no instruction on basic Taisabaki (body-movement) or Ukemi (Breakfalls) from the Sensei At first I did not know what hit me - the mats were rock hard, rough, canvas covered Tatami, in dire need of renewal. They tore the skin off my feet and it took a month or two before the required callouses could build up. It took real determination for me to stick out those initial months. The first time I actually saw O Sensei was about three or four days after I started regular training. He came into the class, gave a short lecture and threw one of the Uchi-deshi (live-in students) around. I knew what he did was special and wanted to be like that too - but I did not feel the same 'Wow - this is something else!" kind of response that others report. I was impressed and intrigued - but not overawed. My journey to Japan was a personal spiritual quest and I realized that this man was someone you only get to be around once - he was a true mystic. Over the coming months and years I was to see him on a daily basis (when he was in Tokyo). As a karate man with both Judo and Jujitsu experience, I was not easily impressed by people flying through the air for apparently no reason. I had made a huge effort to be there to learn what was on offer but - initially I thought - 'Can this really be true, these guys are just falling over...' Then, little by little, as other guys who had 'gone for him' described their bewildering experiences of falling ( for no good reason ) and my own careful observations of the Ukes - I was convinced that this man was incredible. O-Sensei gave to anyone who was open but he was also a man apart - even from the Japanese. You 'got it' by being there and doing the business - not by special treatment. In fact working it out for yourself was par for the course.

When we (the Gaijin Group) went to the dojo to bring O'Sensei a birthday cake - that was a very special occasion. First we have a formal photo with O'Sensei in front of the dojo shrine, and then we went into O Sensei's adjoining house. O'Sensei sat on a sofa eating his cream birthday cake with a spoon he supped beer and smoked and smiled - with his false teeth in. Before long Henry was questioning him about Aikido at which stage he got up and started doing Irimi-nage on Terry Dobson right there in the room. O'Sensei often watched what was going on from the small office overlooking the dojo. He would step out and admonish anything he didn't like, which sometimes happened during my private lessons with one of the Sensei. He would come out if he thought I was getting a raw deal and say - "Don't you throw him round like that!" Other times he would stroll into the dojo and lecture for a few minutes on the philosophy of Aikido - based on the ancient Japanese chronicle The KOJIKI. Then he would use the Uchi-deshi present to demonstrate Sokumen Kokyo Nage or Irimi Nage - these were his favourites. Occasionally he would invite one of the Dan grades to leap up and attack him. These were usually the most spectacular moments - the attackers feet would appear to lift off the floor and the Uke would travel horizontally forwards & down into the mat.

Every day, seven day a week. Sometime I even went to train at Nishio Sensei's Otsuka Dojo as well. Nishio Sensei (7th Dan Aikido, 6th Dan Iai and 5th Dan Karate) taught in several dojos around Tokyo. As an ex-karate man I loved his Aikido - so dynamic and full of moves which cross-referenced all of his arts. He always included some live blade defence work in his demonstration of Aikido. Taking Ukemi from Nishio Sensei was exciting - he did quite a few full body throw and would throw you right through the floor of the Otsuka Dojo - which fortunately was well sprung. O Sensei had a particular admiration for Nishio Sensei. Alan spent from 1965 to 1968 in Japan then, after a while in Hong Kong helping Virginia Mayhem run the Hong Kong Aikikai, he eventually returned to Ireland and set up a small Aikido club. "The Aikido group around 1969 involved some of the survivors of the earlier Karate group, including Michael O Doherty, John Robinson and John Kearney. Unfortunately I had to leave soon after to find work in London. I had no contact with Chiba Sensei when I was living there (intentionally) but did run a small Aikido club in College (attached to London University). In 1974 I took up work in the Isle of Man and have run an Aikido group there since 1975.

Sensei Ruddock is a senior Technical Advisor to the Irish Aikido Association.

Eryk Murlowski