The study of the Art history of UESHIBA Morihei, Shomen of the modern Aikido, in some ways requires a hard and very elaborate research, bounded as it is to martial tradition very different as those of Japan and China and full of Shinto spirituality, but certainly not detached from the buddhist and taoistic culture. In some other sides I say that, the most we know about it, is the result of a wanted deception. The greatness of a man is in his capability to intuit, that’s why I state that O-Sensei UESHIBA MORIHEI was a great man, able to guess so many genius things and to put them in practice. He studied and researched with the strength that only dreams so longed for can give to the ones who persuade them. He knew how to be theoric and real. He gave himself to the stereotipate martial practices of those times, giving them new vigore, originality, utility and brightness. Many studied under his bright guide, but very few understood. Many consider themselves His pupils only because they were briefly under his teaching. But if the eyes don’t deceive, what ever you see is only narrowness, whatever O-Sensei expressed was instead greatness. This is what I could see in His spiritual Son, KOBAYASHI HIROKAZU
Shihan: Greatness.
Great was his practice, great his words and above all He was a real man and a good Master. Do we want to call AIKIDO their Art? Well let’s do it
Do we want to know it? Well let’s practice it.

The Aikido is only a conventional word, on which famous authors have build skyscrapers of words, the most bizarre, most vast, most interesting, I am not saying they’re wrong or write, I just smile. The AIKIDO is not this or that, it does not look like, it does not come from, it is.

So many Japanese and Asiatic schools had such a name, I know better the one of Ueshiba or best the one of KOBAYASHI Hirokazu, my Shihan and now I know my own. The AIKI BU IKU, is strict practice, study and research, not just words.

(off-print of Master Suriano’s volume; “Otoko no Tamashi - Spirit of man” coming up publication.)