22/08/2023
Today, 8th august, the heart of sensei Machita Kenshinsai, Nidai Soke Enshin Itto Ryu Batto Jutsu stopped after more than 91 years. The last years were hard for sensei, immobilized in bed, and for the family that always stayed by his side. Already the way I saw him lying in bed and helpless last year shook me deeply and I couldn't write anything about it then. In the end, he reached out to me and tried to do some more techniques on my fingers, with the only hand he could move... a sign that he had recognized me... He had no strength left and still tried to convey knowledge to me and in those moments. And I think that human contact between our fingers was much more important than the technique itself. I felt that this was what it was about, about connection because Aiki and all martial arts are about how to manage connections of the most different types. Not rejecting the connection that can unite and heal souls. I always felt extremely close to Machida sensei and I continue to feel him. He definitely lives through me and I have and will always have all the moments with him, the moments when he held me down firmly but with love, always concerned not to hurt me, the moments when he brought me tea and forced me to take a break from training so as not to exhaust myself, the moments when he woke me up at night to show me a sword or pictures from his youth and this inevitably led to a shorter or longer training. At the moments when he explains to me what the principles of the sword and Aikijutsu mean through such special calligraphy, with his deformed brushes. Because, he told me, "it's always easy to write beautifully with a perfect brush, and it's just as easy to cut well with a perfectly sharp sword" - "you have to polish yourself to always compensate for the imperfection of the brush, to feel the sword and to permanently compensate for its weakness - only then you will be connecting with your brush, with your sword". Machida sensei was and still is the soul of his art as he demonstrates techniques simply by "being". And this "being" marked me deeply and continues to live through me and I hope also through those to whom I pass all this on. Precious memories from sensei are so vivid in me, such as sharp pains I felt when he laid hands on me but that passed instantly when he stopped and laughed at my clumsiness, or long silences when he remembered his teachers like Kunii Zenya , Sato Kimbei, Ichio Oba, his father and friends such as Gozo Shioda, Gogen Yamaguchi or Ryuho Okuyama - giants of a late martial age. And late night discussions, shared memories with an open heart, stories about japanese swords and Takeda Shingen, and especially those strong and silent hugs, when we parted. And all his heartfull teaching written in the scrolls that he wrote. They all live in me and I will keep them as a gift of the soul that I had the blessing to experience in this life. It is a joy and an honor to have met you - Machita Kenshinsai sensei, it is a joy and an honor to continue with Sandai Soke Takeshi Machita to whom I also thank for friendship, guidance and the openness with which he pushes the art forward. It's a story that keeps going and I'm happy to learn further from this next levels of the story! And the story will continue through each of us who will carry on something from this story, so let us keep in practice!
And this is the image in which I will most often remember my sensei, dignified and with the sincere joy to practice and carry on the art of his family, to share with those around him!
Thank you Machida Machita Kenshinsai, thank you to the Machita family who have always been a second family to me in Japan! RIP Machida Machita Kenshinsai!
With all my heart, Cristian Laiber Romania
