10 Comments

  1. Beautiful tribute Javier. My favorite Sugano quote came while he was explaining footwork for a seemingly ordinary technique during an afternoon class at NY Aikikai. Halfway through stepping through the technique, he stopped, and subtlety adjusted his position relative to his attacker. It was a small movement, but suddenly, everything I thought I knew about the technique changed. Then he said: “The essence of a good defense is a careful observation of yourself.”
    That line, which was both immediately applicable to what he was demonstrating and profound enough to take off the mat into real life, has rang in my ears ever since.

    • Javier Domínguez

      Very nice! We were so lucky to have taken his classes, followed him, and learn a little bit from all he had to show us.

  2. Jerry Zimmerman

    Beautiful, Javier. Thanks for the great memories of Sensei – I was always struck by that little smile on his face when sitting in seiza facing the class – what was he thinking!?

  3. Mark Matcott

    Sugano Shihan was giving samples of calligraphy to students one day. I asked if I could have one. The one he chose for me had the Japanese character ‘ai’ meaning love instead of the Japanese character ‘ai’ meaning harmony. It is one of my most precious memories of him. Those of us who trained with him can never forget him.

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