"That knowing look"
"A bunch of sissies led by a man with a black skirt…"
That's what a 15 year old Robert Spence thought when he saw his first Aikido class in Chorley. Some 43 years later, Sensei Bob Spence is the 6th Dan Head of the Lancashire Aikikai, Coach Tutor for the British Aikido Board, and hugely regarded in the British Aikido community.
During his time, he has been a student and uke for Chiba Shihan; he helped "pacify" troublemakers at Chorley Town Hall events; and he became the first ever Tutor of the British Aikido Board. Quite a change from the youngster whose idea of a career path was to "end up in Barlinnie" (the Prison !)
We have all been told (repeatedly) by Bob Sensei to "move your body". He describes the atemi against yokomenuchi as "slicing the eyes out of your uke". Here, he talks about where these and many other teaching techniques come from – his enormous Aikido experience.
Looking to the future, he muses over the changes he has seen and what they mean for the Lancashire Aikikai – and it's good news.
The early days – from sissies to Shodan
Born in Aberdeen but brought up in Glasgow, a young Mr Spence certainly did not lead a sheltered life. He moved to Lancashire as a 15 year old and practiced karate for a while.
He always had a fascination with weapons-based martial arts, so when he saw a poster showing Aikido with a sword, he decided to find out more. A significant decision – the poster was for Mr Marion Mucha's Chorley Budo Club.
Sensei Marion Mucha with a young Bob Spence
When Bob Sensei turned up, he wasn't impressed with what he saw and thought it would be easy. He tried to punch a 6th Kyu. Bob ended up on the floor. He tried a second time. Again, onto the floor. Bob didn't understand how this happened. There was obviously more to this Aikido than he thought. At the time, he assumed it was a clever way of using strength. As he progressed, Bob Sensei was to learn that it was a much more powerful force….
He quickly caught the Aikido bug and started training regularly and seriously. Mr Mucha didn't usually get involved with the lower grades, so his mentors were Don and Mary Pybus who coached him to his first grading. At the time, the only person who could grade was Chiba Shihan, O'Sensei's emissary to the UK, and he only graded on courses.
Sensei Marion Mucha in action at Chorley Budo Club
Mr Spence remembers the first time he met Chiba Shihan. Although only a few years older, Chiba had a brooding presence and charisma: "I felt a power enter the room", remembers Bob. Over the next few years, he would come to know and experience Chiba Shihan's power in many ways.
Bob Sensei achieved 1st Dan in two and half years, as impressive an achievement then, as it is now. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he put his heart and soul into learning and improving: "Aikido took over my life".
He felt that his regular classes at the Chorley Budo Club were not enough. So he travelled – to Glasgow, to Sunderland, to London, to Birmingham, anywhere that offered training, in particular with Chiba Shihan.
Secondly, his talent was spotted and nurtured. Right from his first Kyu grading, Chiba Shihan told Mr Mucha that "you must look after Bob". And as Bob Sensei progressed to Dan grade, Chiba Shihan would tell others: "Bob is the future of Aikido".
A young Chiba Shihan
The influence of Japanese teachers
Bob Sensei lived through the early days of Aikido in the UK and was amongst its earliest followers. This band of pilgrims included others who are now senior and respected Senseis in the UK such as Terry Ezra Shihan, 7th Dan, Senior Instructor of Komyokan Aikido Association; the Shidoin of British Birankai: Dee Chen, 6th Dan, Tony Cassells, 6th Dan, Chris Mooney, 6th Dan Mike Flynn, 6th Dan Joe Curran, 6th Dan.
Kenshiro Abbe Sensei who brought Aikido to the UK in 1955
They can all claim almost direct contact with O'Sensei, having been trained by his personal representatives such as Kenshiro Abbe Sensei who first introduced Aikido into the UK in 1955. And of course, Chiba Shihan.
Mr Spence has many stories of his teachers. Such as Chiba Shihan's remedy for fractures – a paste of flour, water and ginger (it burns if you use too much ginger, so don't try this at home) Or Tada Sensei's fearsome classes at the Bracknell summer school that started with 90 minute warm-ups that left 4th Dan grades gasping before training proper started.
Meanwhile, Bob Sensei was learning much more about the strange force that had puzzled him at his first class. By now he knew it was Ki and that it was not about strength but about something else, something greater. His old mentor Don Pybus described it as the feeling in the pit of your stomach as you control the need for a wee !
But Chiba Shihan used another analogy, one which we all recognise in the Aikikai today. Chiba Shihan described it as making your arm like a fire hose, filled with water from the hydrant. It's fat, you can't bend it, and its force is directed through the nozzle. Using Ki, the arm becomes the unbendable fire hose, the blade of the hand becomes the nozzle to direct the force – and the body moves with them both.
