The Budo Masters

                                                                                                                             By Henry Ellis

Starting Judo in 1956 and Aikido in 1957.
I have personally met and studied at length during the past 57 years with many Japanese Budo teachers. The following story tells a little of my experiences over the years.
Sensei's - Kenshiro Abbe - Tadashi Abe - Matsutaro Otani - Tommio Otani - Masahilo Nakazono - Masamichi Noro - Haku Michigami - TK Chiba - Nobuyoshi Tamura - T Ishimura - H Tada - K Williams - William `Bill` Woods - Jiro Nakazono - Dang Phong.

Click here to read ->   The Budo Masters 

A True Story of Deludo and the Deluded.

                                                    Kenshiro Abbe Sensei 1915 - 1985 

                                                  A Man With too Many Friends.

                                                                                                       By Henry Ellis

There are now so many claims by idiots with a desperate need of some form of credibility, they all claim to have been friends of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei.
 The genuine direct students of Abbe Sensei will never claim to have been Sensei's friend, they will though, claim with pride to have been a privileged student of this great Legendary Budoka.

There are many comical claims that Sensei loved their mothers cooking so much he would stay at their homes for weeks or months teaching them all the Budo arts.

At its peak the BJC - BAC - BKC had an estimated international membership of some 35,000 members, these idiots claim that Abbe Sensei would take weeks or even months away from his busy international schedule and his demanding duties as head of the BJC to be lured by the irresistible odour of some mothers steak pie with gravy peas and chips.

Click here  -> Kenshiro Abbe - A Man With too Many Friends.

                   

AIKIDO  in  MMA  by Rik Ellis

Its a mystery !

" Why is Ki Aikido only effective on fellow students  of Ki Aikido ?  "                                                                                                                                                                  

Rik Ellis, the son of Henry Ellis Shihan. Rik is a long time student of Aikido, he found he needed to set new limits to test himself.

Rik found MMA / Cage fighting to be the ultimate challenge.
Rik has won every fight in the first round - he is now the UK1 2012 Light Heavy weight champion.
Like his father he is saddened to see the way Aikido the martial art he still respects, is sadly so diluted to suit the needs and purpose of the deluded, that it has gone beyond watering down to become vaporised.
Admittedly, there is still some good Aikido, but sadly there is far more `Pony Aikido`. The genuine Aikidoka know who they are - and the rest know exactly who they are.

To read the article Click Here -> Aikido in MMA

True Aikido Stor Masahilo Nakazono Sensei

 `A Man of Peace and Pieces `

                                                                                                                          By Henry Ellis

Henry Ellis tells the story of Nakazono Sensei the first Japanese Aikido master to be invited by Kenshiro Abbe to teach in the UK in 1960.
This story was originally printed in the Aikiweb columns in " It had to be Felt " number 19.
Aikiweb invites direct students of the early teachers tell of their personal experiences training with some of the Legends of Aikido.
Photo: Henry Ellis with his teacher Masahilo Nakazono 1992 - in Sante Fe New Mexico USA.

Click Here ->   `A Man of Peace and Pieces ``A Man of Peace and Pieces`

True Aikido Story

                

                                                      Masamichi Noro Sensei - 1935 - 2013

                                                                     " The White Tornado "

                                                                                                                         By Henry Ellis

Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman tell of their first meeting and training with Noro Sensei in the early 1960s. From the Aikiweb Columns " It Had to Be felt " number 20 .
Early direct students tell of their personal experiences with some of the legends of British Aikido. -
Photo right: Hut Dojo 1962 - Centre, M Noro - L to R: H Foster - H Ellis - K Williams

Click here ->   `The White Tornado`

True Aikido Stories

                      

                                                          Kenshiro Abbe Sensei - 1915 - 1975

                                 " Trying to Catch the Wind "

This story by Henry Ellis is told in the Aikiweb ``Columns number 15``.
It is a part of the group of stories in " It Had to Be Felt " - where direct students are invited to tell of their experiences with some of the legends of Budo.

Henry Ellis, one of the first of five black-belts for Aikido in the in the UK in the 1950s,  recalls his teacher Kenshiro Abbe Sensei, a man that taught Aikido as a Martial Art, without a no touch throw or multi coloured ribbons in sight. Breathing through ones toes was a fantasy yet to be experienced.

Click here ->  `Trying to Catch the Wind `

True Aikido Story.

         TK Chiba Shihan                         

                                               There we were "Two Handsome Young Men " 1966

This story was related in the "AikiWeb" Columns - `It Had to be Felt` number 24. where direct students tell how it felt to study with the legends of Aikido.

TK Chiba Sensei arrived in the UK in 1966 - Henry Ellis tells of that first amazing and brutal meeting of minds and attitude. In 1967 Henry Ellis would leave the `Hut Dojo` to join with Chiba Sensei where he assisted Sensei until 1972. Read the " AikiWeb " article which is a true story of just how it was in those early days, 

Click here ->  `Two Handsome Young Men`

A True Judo Story

A TRIBUTE TO MATSUTARO OTANI SENSEI - 1896 - 1977. 

Matsutaro Otani Sensei worked for many years as a sword-smith at the `Wilkinson Sword factory in London - Making British Army Officers swords. The photo shows Sensei making the actual sword that Kirk Douglas used in the film ` Spartacus ` - Kirk came to the factory and was presented with the sword by Otani Sensei.

By W. Stopps

W `Bill` Stopps Sensei was the first personal assistant to Matsutaro Otani Sensei from 1947.
This true story had never been published until Bill gave me the opportunity to read his memoirs. I enjoyed the story so much, I asked Bill if I could publish it on my website - he agreed.
He tells of a time before one could buy a Judo gi, he actually made one out of sail cloth.

To read this story - Click here. ->  Tribute to Matsutaro Otani Sensei

                                          Is Aikido a Martial Art ?

                                                                    "The Rise of the Plastic Samurai"


Henry Ellis Shihan a direct student of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957 - and a pioneer of British Aikido - Henry Ellis was one of the first ever group of five dan grades in the UK.

Aikido has changed a great deal over the years, and not for the better I dare suggest.
We now have Aikido with ribbons - no touch throws from a distance - music in the dojo - breathing through ones toes - Ki Blasts - Ki freezing of students - woolie hats -  Sensei knocking apples off his students heads with his Ki.

To read the article - Click here -> Is Aikido a Martial Art.

Origins of the Coloured Belts in Martial Arts ?

Martial Arts Gradings and the Value and Respect of the Coloured Belt.

By Henry Ellis

There are many varied ideas of the origins of the grading by coloured belts. It is a system that we the `Ellis Schools of Traditional Aikido follow from the 1950s with the legendary Budoka Kenshiro Abbe Sensei until this modern day.
All one needed was one belt, starting with white, this could be dyed yellow - then orange - then green - then blue - then brown - Of course times are not so tough now, and students buy their individual coloured belts.

Click here for ->  Origins of the Coloured Belt System.

                               The Great British Aikido Controversy

                                 The Betrayal of British Budo

<-  British Aikido Board statement by the then chairman Mr Toni Davies. - Mr Jack Poole ->

" We the British Aikido Board - Are not the custodians of British Aikido History - We therefore have no interest in the same "

The British Aikido Controversy was initiated when `The British Aikido Board` ( the governing body for UK Aikido ) promoted a Mr Jack Poole to its members as the original pioneer of British Aikido - Mr Poole claimed to have started his Aikido in 1952 - Three years before Aikido was introduced to the UK by  Kenshiro Abbe Sensei in 1955. Mr Poole had actually started his Aikido as a complete beginner with Henry Ellis Sensei in 1968.
Bottom Right: Present BAB Chairman Mr V Sumpter.
Left: BAB Secretary Ms Shirley Timms .

Mr Poole always referred to himself as a ` Man of Budo` -- he actually claimed to have dan grades in Aikido - Karate - Kendo - Judo.
After being exposed - Mr Poole's website now reads " Sensei Poole has studied several martial arts to black belt standard "  <]:-)

Click here to read  The British Aikido Controversy.

The whole sordid story has been archived by " The Martial Arts Encyclopedia "  - Click -> Jack Poole and the British Aikido Board.

The Kenshiro Abbe 50th Jubilee Event - 2005 - Crystal Palace London

Henry Ellis a direct student of Kenshiro Abbe Sensei from 1957. Ellis was one of the organisers of this great Budo event to celebrate the memory of a great Budo Master.
This event is regarded by many senior martial artists as the greatest ever event of its kind in the UK.

   Click here - Kenshiro Abbe Jubilee Event

THE BETRAYAL of BRITISH BUDO - A DOCUMENTED STORY WITH SLIDE-SHOW

The Betrayal of British Budo

It Only Takes the Good Aikidoka to Stand Quietly By - For the Fraudulent Plastic Samurai to Succeed.
by Henry Ellis 

 

 

Below - Top left: Mr Jack Poole - Top right: Mr Toni Davies

Bottom left: Mr Vincent Sumpter - Bottom right: Ms Shirley Timms

 

The ` Slide - Show ` below is a factually documented story of the betrayal of British Budo by the  discredited `British Aikido Board`  the governing body for Aikido in the UK.

All photos and factual statements - documentation - which are presented in this documentary are all available on file. Including the BAB defamation and libel of the good name of Henry Ellis, also the attempted blackmail threats by email from the Jack Poole supporters group, which also includes the malicious website created by the same cowardly  group who are desperately protecting their grades issued by Mr Poole..

The British Aikido Board - Mr Poole and his supporters - have to this day, failed to offer one single item of proof to substantiate any of the bizarre claims of Mr Poole's biography.

We have statements from many students of the time in question, and more importantly from the following highly respected Budoka listed below.

TK Chiba Shihan - R Otani President ` British Judo Council` - H Otani BJC - Pierre Chasange aide to Tadashi Abe Sensei - Bill Stopps Sensei, aide to Matsutaro Otani Sensei -   Senior Metropolitan Police Detective - A Davies Hanshi, President of the Bushido Za Zen Society. - W ( Bill ) Woods Sensei, personal aide to Kenshiro Abbe Sensei. - Haydn Foster Sensei. - Derek Eastman Sensei - George Stavro Sensei. - Including a signed document along with BAB email exchanges from an `Ex- BAB Executive`.

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The British Aikido Board - Jack Poole - Henry Ellis - Slide Show.

 

 

The British Aikido Board Event Presentation Programme

Reads ( pause at 7m 14sec )

 

" This year is a particular special event because we will be honouring 5 ( FIVE ) instructors who have served over 40  ( FORTY )  continuous years teaching Aikido in the UK. "

 

They are:  H Ellis ~ H Foster ~ R Reynolds ~ W Smith - D Eastman.

 

NOW look at the presentation group photo and the named 5 ( FIVE ) has mysteriously become 6  ( SIX ) 

 



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British Aikido Origins

 

The Video the British Aikido Board Does not Want its Members to See.

 

 

Narrated Slide Show by Henry Ellis Shihan