Seiichi Sugano: Aikido Across Three Continents

Seiichi Sugano 菅野誠一 (17 December 1939 – 29 August 2010) was a Japanese Aikido instructor and one of the important figures in the international development of Aikido during the second half of the twentieth century. A direct student of Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba 植芝盛平, Sugano spent more than four decades teaching outside Japan, particularly in Australia, Europe and the United States. He eventually attained the rank of 8th Dan and the title of Shihan 師範 within the Aikikai organization.

Sugano was born in Otaru 小樽市, Hokkaido 北海道, Japan, in 1939. Before taking up Aikido, he had studied Judo for approximately six years. At around the age of eighteen, he encountered an article about Aikido in a magazine. Interested in the relatively new martial art, he entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Tokyo in 1957. Around a year or two later, he became an uchi-deshi, or live-in student, placing him among the generation of practitioners who received direct instruction from Morihei Ueshiba during the later years of the founder’s life.

Life as an uchi-deshi involved intensive daily training at Hombu Dojo. As Sugano gained experience, he was also sent out to teach Aikido at universities, the headquarters of the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and American military bases around Tokyo. During this period, he trained alongside a generation of young instructors that included Yoshimitsu Yamada 山田嘉光, Kazuo Chiba 千葉和雄, and Nobuyoshi Tamura 田村信喜. Many of these instructors would later play major roles in establishing Aikido outside Japan.

Sugano demonstrating sword techniques

While teaching in Japan, Sugano met Verelle Wadling, an Australian woman from Sydney who had travelled to Japan to study Judo before taking up Aikido. Sugano and Wadling married in 1964, and the following year they moved to Australia.

In 1965, Sugano, then a 5th Dan, arrived in Sydney with the authority of Morihei Ueshiba to develop Aikido in Australia and the wider Australasian region. His organization became known as Aikido Australasia and formed the basis of what later became Aiki Kai Australia. The organization was formally incorporated as Aiki Kai Australia in June 1985.

Sugano remained based in Australia for roughly fourteen years. Around 1978–1979, Sugano relocated to Europe at the invitation of Nobuyoshi Tamura. He was based primarily in Belgium and also taught extensively in France, Luxembourg and elsewhere in Europe. His years there further expanded his international influence and established long-term relationships with Aikido organisations and practitioners throughout the continent.

In 1988, Sugano moved to New York City, where he joined Yoshimitsu Yamada as an instructor at the New York Aikikai. New York became his principal base for the remainder of his life. Despite living in the United States, Sugano continued to travel extensively, teaching seminars in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia and other regions. He maintained particularly close ties with Australia and regularly returned to conduct national training schools and dan gradings.

Sugano’s Aikido was known for its speed and power, while his teaching placed particular emphasis on timing, distance, body positioning and the fundamental study of basic technique. His weapons instruction followed a relatively organic approach, with less emphasis on fixed kata and greater attention to paired practice, correct hanmi, timing and distance.

Sugano also believed that students should not merely imitate their teacher. In his view, serious training involved learning fundamental principles while continuing to develop one’s own understanding rather than simply reproducing another person’s movements.

Sugano also formulated a short ethical statement known as the Aikido Moral Code:

Aikido is a Way
There is commitment and there is obligation
Do not abuse or misuse the art of Aikido
Study carefully, honestly and humbly
Respect your seniors
Take care of your juniors

In 2003, Sugano suffered a serious bacterial infection that resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. Despite the loss of his leg, he resumed Aikido practice and continued teaching and demonstrating internationally while using a prosthesis.

Seiichi Sugano died in New York City on 29 August 2010, aged seventy. His historical importance lies particularly in his role as a direct link between Morihei Ueshiba and the international generation of Aikido practitioners that emerged from the 1960s onward. Through his work in Australia, Europe and the United States, he helped transform Aikido from a predominantly Japanese martial art into an established international discipline. His influence remains especially strong in Australia, where the organization and teaching tradition he helped establish continue today.

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