I started Aikido with Valter Francia in 2001 and I will always be thankful for this. He introduced me to this art and I will never forget it. I still remember the euphoria at the beginning of every day I knew I would have trained later. The day started in a better way just because there would have been Aikido. The ones who know me well are sure this is the truth and that when I say/write something, there is no hidden goal, nothing is between the lines. Never.
Author: Pasquale Robustini
Why on Earth I keep doing this…?
For me Aikido was love at first sight. My infatuation began in 2001 and since then I’ve never stopped. I even started teaching to a small group from 2010 on. To me Aikido means well-being. It has always made me feel better, both as practitioner and as a teacher. It is a wonderful discipline and I will always be grateful to the one who first introduced me to it and unveiled Aikido to me. But it’s not all a bed of roses…
A Dojo Named Katsu
I’ve always been fascinated by Aikido’s motto: Masagatsu Agatsu Katsu Ayabe. 正勝 吾勝, 勝早日: The true victory is the victory over oneself, the victory here and now. There are many different literal translations of this sentence by Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. The core meaning is that our worst enemy lies within ourselves and if we defeat it we will obtain the true victory.