Kushida Sensei in 1983

[RickMatz]

I found an old video of Kushida Sensei doing a demonstration in 1983, in Philadelphia to support Utada Sensei's Doshinkan Dojo.

30 years ago, Kushida Sensei would have been in his 40's.

The video is a little over 17 minutes long. The first half shows a group of students demonstrating techniques. Kushida Sensei is the focus of the second half.

He's not doing anything spectacular like multi opponent randori, but you can get a sense of how the man moved and the power he had.

The young Japanese man who is his uke for jo taking is his son Akira. "Akira Sensei" is now in charge of Yoshokai Aikido since Kushida Sensei passed last year.

The video ends with a jo form that I think is a real work of art. Enjoy.