Reprinted with the approval of the magazine Martial Arts Illustrated
And the magazines Aikido correspondent Keith Morgan Sensie
Interview with Henry Ellis and Derek Eastman
April issue 2006
Sorry this is not a dedication to Lennon / McCartney, but continuing the theme of early pioneers of the martial arts in the UK. It gives me great pleasure this month to talk to Henry Ellis, pioneer of Aikido, International teacher and author.
Keith Morgan: Hello, Henry, thank you for this opportunity, without being rude, how old are you?
Henry Ellis: I was born May 3rd 1936, so I will be 70 this year. [ Looking at Henry Ellis, believe me this was hard to believe ].
KM: So what got you interested in Aikido ?
HE : Well, I never really was at first. Although I was quite athletic, cycling was my passion. I wasn’t really into club cycling, but competitive racing. I entered my first race in 1951. I have always been competitive, I guess you had to be in those days. Being brought up in the war years and post war years, you had to fight for everything. Nothing was ever given to you, and that still holds with me today. Coupled with that was my actual upbringing. My father was a Yorkshire coalminer and I was brought up with an iron fist. That made me hard.
KM: So how did you get involved in Aikido ?
HE: A friend of mine invited me to a Judo club, this was in 1957, at the Hut. Now I really wasn’t too bothered about it. It didn’t do too much for me. I was cycling 50 miles a day then. But I went with him anyway.
KM: Who was teaching the Judo ?
HE: A man called Derek Tubb, I did actually enjoy it. I then started to watch the Aikido, and one guy there called Hadyn Foster. Hadyn had just started Aikido just a few months earlier. Hadyn still teaches at the Hut today. Isn’t that amazing!
KM: When did Aikido first start in the UK?
HE: This is very important to get correct, as this is history, our heritage, that unfortunately
is being corrupted to either promote other’s alleged history. Aikido was officially introduced to the UK by Kenshiro Abbe in 1955. He was originally brought over by the London Judo Society ( LJS ) He was a great Budo man, skilled in Judo, Kendo, JuKendo ( bayonet ), Iai, Karate, and of course Aikido, having been a personal student of Ueshiba for 10 years. Kenshiro Abbe Sensie gave Aikido demonstrations at the London Judo Society dojo and at the Royal Albert Hall in 1955. This is a documented fact ! Anyhow, when I saw it at the Hut, I didn’t even know what it was, but I loved it. Of course in those days, they were not looking for numbers in terms of membership.
KM: And Abbe’s connection with the Hut ?
HE: The Hut became the Abbe School of Budo, and believe me it was tough. Abbe Sensei would visit quite regularly, and he always wore his old brown pin-stripe suit. We used to call it his “ de-mob suit”, because that’s what it looked like. In fact it may even have been one, picked up second hand from somewhere. Anyhow he would just kick off his shoes and come on the mat dressed just like that, teach a technique or two, and then leave!
KM: How very eccentric !
HE: Absolutely. He also used a shinai ( split bamboo sword ) His English was atrocious and he struggled with the language. He would stand on the mat and in pigeon English, would say, “ My English is very poor, My Shinai speaks perfect English! “ And you know , he’d whack us with it all night long to correct us. We used to go home with welts on our legs, our arms and lumps and bumps on our heads. But I loved it. To me it was just as hard as my childhood. I was used to beatings. I didn’t take exception to being shouted or hollered at. The training was rigorous too, with bunny hops around the dojo, press ups on the wrists to strengthen them up. Yes, it was tough. But there was a different breed of people training in Aikido in those days, and that is probably true of the other arts. You know, we had market traders from London, tough labourers and a few lets say dubious characters. These were naturally tough men who had grown up in tough areas in tough times.
KM: People today cannot even hope to comprehend this. How often were you training ?
HE: Five nights a week and Sunday mornings. I was hooked. We all trained so hard, and not just for grades either. Today, people seem to chase grades and get them far too early.
KM: I totally agree with that sentiment.
HE: You know, the hardest grade then and still is in our schools , is third kyu, or green belt. Green belt is without a doubt the hardest grade and the most important. Its at this point that a student is beginning to lean what the art is all about. You are bringing together the principals you have learnt as a novice. Back then, as a green belt, you would be taken on by a Dan grade as his uke, or assistant. I became assistant to Ken Williams Sensei who was running the Aikido then at the Hut. In about 1959, Ken Williams and I did one of the first public displays of Aikido in the UK at the invite of Graham Burt. Graham went on in later years to introduce Aikido to Canada in 1965.
KM: That’s something. Aikido was spreading worldwide, not only from Japan, but from the UK as well.
HE: Yes, I suppose that is right. These early displays or visits were to Judo clubs initially. Abbe used to hold a summer camp every year for just one week. It was mainly Judo., with the Aikido being relegated to a small room somewhere, and the Karate usually outside. On the last day, we were usually allowed onto the mats to give a display. Consequently we would make our contacts with the Judo boys and then visit them at their dojos. These boys were tough too, and we had to prove the effectivness, in no uncertain terms, of Aikido to them; to educate them ( laughs ).
KM: That tough ?
HE: Yes, Sunday mornings, the Black Belts ( Aikido ) would turn up at the Hut, and we’d lock the door and get stuck in, and we soon found out what worked and what didn’t . I remember once, Ken Williams caught me with a good blow to the chest and I went down to the floor, screaming “ aaarrgh “ . Well everyone knew me, I never screamed, or murmured from a punch or throw, Ellis never did, and they all stopped. Ken came over and bent over me to check me and I went whack and grazed him! But that is what it was like, he never did that again, and in fact from that point on he called me “ The Fox “.
KM: Well, a little deceit does no harm !
HE: Yes, but there was no animosity, we were working-out together. But it did get out of hand once. I remember, David Williams, Ken’s brother, well lets just say he was a dangerous man. I was having in the pub with David one night and it basically ended up in the pub car park. Well I got David down and the point was proven. As I helped him up he smashed me in the face and broke my nose,. There was no need for it. He couldn’t say “good technique “. Just hit me with a sucker punch, He did lose the respect of a lot of the boys after that. Another time, I wanted to train with Eric Dollimore, one of the original Dan grades. You’ve got to remember, I was quite an arrogant sod in those days. “ Sorry, can’t oblige today, I’ve got lunch at my girlfriends at 12 ,” he said. I said to him “ Yeah, I thought you would say that “, and turned away smiling to myself. A little later, Eric appeared at the changing room door, less his hakama, and said, “ You ready then ?” “ It’s a quarter to twelve” I said “ Haven’t you got to go ?” “ It won’t take that long “ he answered , I thought to myself, It won’t mate!
So we set to against each other, and he caught me with a beautiful technique, got right underneath me and sent me flying across the mat, right off it in fact, and crash, right through the wall of Ken Williams office, who happened to be working in there at the time! I just lay there, plaster and dust and bits and pieces falling all over me. Ken didn’t even blink, he just looked over his desk and said “Ellis, there’s a bloody door there, use it! “
KM: Good stuff!
HE: Yes, and it gets better, When Derek Eastman first came to the Hut with a friend, the first lesson he saw was me blindfolded, being attacked with shinai, and having to defend myself just using my senses. Derek was so taken with all of this he joined, whereas his mate , who was the one who really wanted to come along, buggered off! Well Derek , even as a beginner showed great potential, and his ukemi ( break falls ) were superb. In those days, as mentioned earlier, you had to be a green belt before you could become a Dan grade’s assistant, but I wanted Derek. Despite the protests, I basically stamped my feet and stood my ground, and I got Derek as my uke, We’ve been together ever since, over forty years. You know he is still so loyal, that even on seminars today he goes to carry my bag, I have to tell him off, that I can carry my own bag, and we are just like two grumpy old men arguing.
KM: You very rarely see that sort of loyalty today. Sorry for switching, but I have just noticed your Dan grade certificates on the wall, and it is numbered. When did you take it?
HE: Gosh, around 1959, although I can’t be that certain now,. The certificate is numbered 394, and signed and sealed by Morihei Ueshiba. So I guess I must have been the 394th Dan grade.
KM: That is a fabulous piece of history there.
HE: In those days, and still, everybody who graded, a bona fida grade that is, at Dan grade level in Aikido, was registered with the AikiKai Hombu in Japan. But there are so many groups now that are not associated with the Hombu. So many things change and not always for the better.
KM: I agree with that.
HE: Take even preparatory exercises. My own dojo have always done press-ups on the backs of the wrists at different angles. You now get people who say these are bad for you. In all the years I have taught, and all the students I have had, I have never had anybody complain of wrist injuries. These people basically haven’t got the courage, the discipline, determination, and resolve to achieve this level of training.
KM: Unfortunately that’s true of many of the arts today. Students don’t seem to want to put the work in, and of course you get the associations or clubs that are all too willing to dish out the grades simply for money and numbers. It’s frightening, but you can still become a black belt and still be a couch potato. People don’t want to train hard, and in some instances hide behind “ Best Practice “ policies. Even in the B.A.B., Instructors argue over the teaching of locks to children. Just because you teach them doesn’t mean you have to apply them. Just teach the shapes.
HE: Absolutely, People are too soft and too scared today.
KM: So how did The Hut and Aikido progress at that point in time ?
HE: Well, Abbe Sensie was obviously still our main teacher, and his style was very direct, very linear. Then in 1963, we had another Sensei visit us, Noro. Now he was very different.
White hakama,white dogi. He had a lot of movement in his techniques, lots of circling and swirling. We used to call him the White Tornado ! He was fast, dynamic, but he would tell us off for not moving, so we would change. But another teacher who was also with us at the time, Nakazono, would then come over to us and tell us off for having too much movement! It was very confusing. We went through a few different phases in these early years. Even to wearing black gis, that we had to dye ourselves, because you just couldn’t get black in those days. We then changed back to white within a few months, very frustrating, too.
But the great thing that Noro brought with him from Japan was the “ Forms “ These were the basic 9 forms that simplified teaching. A great way to teach. Unfortunately these have been abandoned now by many schools, but we still use them to this day. To us then, It was a revelation, and wherever we went, we taught these forms.
KM: So how did Aikido become national ?
HE: It was Ken Williams idea really. We had been attending Abbe’s summer schools, and getting invites to visit other dojos, and it progressed from thereto the point that, at Kens request , Derek and I took a year off from work, got into my car and just drove off. We literally travelled for 12 months around the UK, introducing Aikido wherever we could. We didn’t get paid for this, but we got well treated. Ralph Reynolds, at this time too, was travelling down every Sunday from Birmingham to train at the Hut, and don’t forget, there were no motorways then. [ At this point we are joined by Derek Eastman who also contributes to the interview. ]
Derek Eastman: Part of my job in those days was to get to the dojo ( The Hut ) early on Sunday mornings, open up and sweep the mats down. I also had to light the paraffin heaters to take the chill off the place. Ralph and a couple of his early students would always be there waiting for me.
HE: Yes, and not many people know that Ralph would travel for over 5 hours to get just three hours training, and glean that little bit of information, then go back again. That’s dedication.
KM: Absollutely, I know where you are coming from there. I still travel every week to see Billy Doak, my teacher, and that’s over 7 hours driving return trip just for 2 – 3 hours training. But it’s worth it.
HE: That’s what it takes, Ralph would then work hard in the Midlands to establish Aikido. Anyhow, Ken Ken now thought it was right to spread further. “ So where do we go? “ I asked, “ Wherever there is no Aikido, “ he answered. And that was it. We literally set off with only about £20 to £30 between us.
KM: How did you survive ?
HE: We literally had to con our way everywhere. Not with the students of course. Take for instance, we’d chat up a pretty girl to get a meal, or just to kip.
