As the 20th anniversary of Kanai Sensei’s passing on March 28, 2004 approaches, we would like to remember him by sharing stories from a few of his former students. Their memories, though just a sample of the thousands of people who were touched by his gifts, are an important part of his legacy. His influence on the founders of Aikido Tekkojuku, all of whom were his students, has been profound and enduring.
-
Sumio Hirai was Kanai Sensei’s friend from junior high school
Dear Mitsunari Kanai kun, I met you for the first time at Rokugo Junior High School in Ohta. We went to different highschools, but we kept in touch with each other after we graduated. You invited me to visit Hombu dojo in Wakamatsu-cho in Shinjuku. It was the first time I sawAikido. You tried to have me practice Aikido, but I turned you down. I thought it was impossible for me because of my small body size. One thing I can recall from school days was about Mr. Miwa. He was a senior student to us, and he used to live… Read More
-
Sharon Mann was Kanai Sensei’s student 1968-1976
In my early days at New England Aikikai, trips back to Japan for practice at Honbu Dojowere fairly regularly scheduled. Sensei’s Kanai and Yamada would host these sojourns,most likely as a way to finance their own travel home as there weren’t many of usstudents back then and therefore very little money for their salaries. Traveling to Japan in their company was extraordinary. We would practice at Honbu tobe sure, but the Sensei’s also personally took us sightseeing to many restaurants,gardens, and temples. At one, a group of us were gathered on the porch, looking out over the sculptedlandscape. Kanai Sensei… Read More
-
Gilda Bruckman was Kanai Sensei’s student 1972-2004
I first met Kanai Sensei in April 1972 when I joined New England Aikikai in Central Square, Cambridge. For the next 32 years I was his student, and he was my only teacher. He had a wealth of talents and skills—some visible and easily observed and others less frequently seen. On the mat he was endlessly awe-inspiring. He was also a masterful artist with pen and brush. As some of his students came to know, Kanai Sensei also had a deep understanding of anatomy. This made him uniquely valuable to students who sustained all the variety of physical mishaps that… Read More
-
Kei Izawa was Kanai Sensei’s student 1976-1978
My time with Kanai Sensei was between 1976 to 1978, and it was a time when he was finally gaining some confidence in his life in the US. But he still was shy in imposing Japanese Dojo etiquette to the New England Aikikai members. I recall, students would come and go without proper Rei, not sitting in Seiza in line waiting in silence for him to start the class. His students could not even say a few greeting words in Japanese. It took a while for Sensei to trust me but in October 1976 when he had to go to… Read More
-
Yasu Itoh Sensei was Kanai Sensei’s student 1978-2004
I had been practicing Aikido for four years at Musashi University’s Aikido club in Tokyo. Ibecame a captain of the club and received the 2nd Dan upon my graduation in 1976. I imagined that I also graduated from Aikido and wasn’t planning to continue to practice. I asked him several times about Ki. He had always told me that Ki doesn’t come out of his body even during his Aikido demonstration. One time I asked him, “Then when does Ki come out? Have you ever experienced this?” But I changed my mind when I came to the U.S. I met Kanai Sensei for… Read More
-
George Mokray was Kanai Sensei’s student 1982-2004
Kanai Sensei was a powerful presence. Not tall but broad across the chest and with well-muscled forearms that, I later learned, were soft. All that iaido. He paid special attention to beginners, teaching basics classes every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. He had a curriculum that he followed, showing all the fundamentals. Anybody who went to those classes for the three-month period when they were “official” beginners would be firmly grounded in aikido. Anybody who wanted to deepen their practice could learn something new at any one of them. Of course, over the years, he changed the way hedid some techniques and… Read More
-
Mike Huben was Kanai Sensei’s student 1983-2004
My first experience of Kanai Sensei was in my first day of classes. During kokyu ho, he came by and seated himself to practice with me. He grasped my wrists and I tried to move him, and it was hopeless. I struggled for a minute or so, and started to relax, and he said, “Don’t give up! Don’t give up!” So I resumed struggling fruitlessly, and after another minute or so I started to relax again, and again he said, “Don’t give up! Don’t give up!” I started again, and after a little time he graciously rolled over. Then it was my… Read More
-
Lee Pistone was Kanai Sensei’s student 1996-2004
The most surprising thing I discovered about Kanai Sensei was his compassion. It was not what I expected from a man of his stature in martial arts. The best example I can give is…. When I was away from classes due to injury or work for extended periods of time, Don Laliberty would always tell me to go see Kanai Sensei. Sensei had noticed I had not been in class for some time and had asked for me. Those times I visited him he was always very interested in why I had been away. He was particularly interested and helpful in… Read More