I want to begin by thanking Simone Chierchini sensei for offering some of his precious time to your “trusted comic-book-man San Ovo”. I took the liberty to ask him 5 small questions to put together this little interview, that I am now sharing with you, friends and brothers of the Orbassano dojo Bushi No Kami
by OSVALDO RIGHETTO
OVO SAN:
If Aikido was a one of the five senses, which one would be?
SIMONE:
Certainly the touch. There is no deeper way to perceive movement and capture the emotions of a person.
OVO SAN:
How important is for you, sensei to bring Aikido where there is none?
SIMONE:
More than any rank or qualification. I did it already for 20 years and will continue to do so until my strengths will permit it. I prefer tilling virgin territory rather than fight to put foot on soil already trodden by all.
OVO SAN:
Do you consider yourself someone who brings harmony and peace in the name of Aikido?
SIMONE:
I am trying to pacify myself , first of all , and to communicate a good example with my acts . I hope to be remembered in the future as a good coordinator of people’s common purposes, rather than as yet another pupil of some famous sensei. The value of an aikidoka should be measured by his ability to live a balanced and solar life, by his capacity to positively affect the Aikido community and society around him, gradually expanding the diameter of his actions as a kind of concentric circles that flow from the first.
OVO SAN:
What would you change in Aikido today?
SIMONE:
Nothing. It is not for anyone to change the macro-systems, we can only live in them. In my micro-system (family, dojo , organization) , I want to bring Aikido outside the narrow confines of the dojo, making it more visible and useful at a community and social level. I want to live it with my children and students as a daily dimension, and not as something to be done a couple of times a week, like a course in English.
OVO SAN:
When you sees a junior student, do you ever think whether you were like him or not?
SIMONE:
No! but simply because I started to go on the mats when I was not walking yet , so obviously I do not remember…
Thanks again, Chierchini sensei
Your friend Osvaldo
Originally posted in Italian on http://www.aikidorbassano.it/?q=node/306
AIKIDO MAYO 