Interview with
Seiichi Sugano
Interview with Sugano Sensei - Reprinted courtesy of Aikido East, Fall/Winter 1998
You have said that you consider Aikido more of a personal development than a martial art?
"I prefer not to describe Aikido in the category of a martial art. When O Sensei created Aikido, he broke with the traditional concept of martial arts. That is how Aikido developed. Aikido is not for fighting but for harmony and love. If you look at martial arts from a Western standpoint, they are fighting arts. In Japan, Budo is vaguely known to involve mental and spiritual aspects. But here, people don't see it that way. O Sensei created Aikido to break through the traditional concept of martial arts. It was a simple thing, his idea, harmony with the universe. You train technically to be efficient and precise. Accuracy involves timing and rhythm. So if you understand that timing and rhythm creates a balance, then you begin to understand that's how we can stand on the earth perfectly. Earth has two forces balancing perfectly: rotation and gravity. If you understand that balance or rhythm, you can begin to understand that we're part of the universe. If you only look at Aikido like it's a martial art, for purposes of attack and defense, our training will be limited to those purposes.
Traditional martial arts were always passed on through a static method, kata form, passed on without changing. O Sensei broke that form. He moved spontaneously. Aikido, the way O Sensei developed it, is more like the best aspect of sports. Coaches teach repetition of technique and in that way, Aikido is like sports. People like to make a distinction between sports and martial arts, as if martial arts is superior to sports. I don't see it that way. I fence and I see it as very positive, a great way to foster personal development. In many ways, sports are much more open than martial arts. The technical accomplishments in sports are more exact. Many sports involve mental training as well, like Aikido. The results are good. Obviously, though, sports have competition and Aikido does not and that is a great difference between the two."