Jacques Payet (ジャック・パイエ, born August 24, 1957) is a practitioner of

Yoshinkan Yoshinkan (養神館 ''Yōshinkan'' lit. "Hall of Spirit Cultivation") Aikido is a style of aikido that developed after World War II in the Yoshinkan Dojo of Gozo Shioda (1915–1994). Yoshinkan Aikido is often called the "hard" style of aikido b ...

-style

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

. He was the longest-serving non-Japanese ''

uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in ''kabuki'', ''rakugo'', ''shogi'', '' igo'', ''aikido'', ''sumo'', ''karate'' and other modern Japanese martia ...

'' of Yoshinkan founder

Gozo Shioda was a Japanese master of aikido who founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido.Senshusei Course
Retrieved on August 27, 2010. is an intensive, 11-month

, a translator of several important works in aikido, and a guest instructor in demand around the world.

Early life

Payet was born and grew up in the commune of Saint-Leu in the French

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

, an island in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

near

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

.Marizy,S. & J.Payet (interview, 2010).
"Jacques Payet, maître d’Aikido au Japon et aux Etats-Unis"
''Réunionnais du Monde''. As a boy, he became interested in

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

and studied

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

.Unknown & J.Payet (interview)
「合気即生活の日々」
''Chugai Daily'', June 1, 2013. In 1976 he was a teacher in the Saint-Leu neighborhood of Le Plate but decided to pursue his education further by attending the

Université de Lyon The University of Lyon ( , or UdL) is a university system ( ''ComUE'') based in Lyon, France. It comprises 12 members and 9 associated institutions. The 3 main constituent universities in this center are: Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, which f ...

, where he did an IUT, which he followed by conscription service in the French army in 1979–1980."Payet-sensei: the Nick interview"
/ref>

Training at the Yoshinkan dojo

While finishing academic studies in France, Payet was practicing

jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

and attended a seminar in 1978 at which he saw a film of Yoshinkan founder Gozo Shioda, whom he believed to be a jujutsu practitioner due to a language barrier. Determined to meet Shioda, Payet traveled to Japan in September 1980. He arrived without any information about Shioda's location but was able to find the Yoshinkan dojo with the assistance of a French speaking Japanese student at Tokyo University.Ries, B.J
"The Enlightening of Aikido"
''Kyoto Journal'', Kyoto Notebook.

''Uchi-deshi'' of Gozo Shioda

When Payet arrived at the Yoshinkan in 1980, most classes were taught by Takafumi Takeno.Unknown & J.Payet (interview, 2012). "Interview with Jacques Payet sensei" Ассоциация клубов Айкидо Ёсинкан Москвы Transcript retrieved fro

/ref> Although regular students at the Yoshinkan did not have an opportunity to train with him, Payet was introduced to Gozo Shioda by his son, Yasuhisa Shioda. Following the introduction, Payet was offered the opportunity to live and train in the dojo full-time for a few months. His stay was extended several times until the beginning of the dojo's next special police training course in April 1981, at which time Payet officially became an ''uchi-deshi'' in the Yoshinkan dojo. Payet was Shioda's '' deshi'' from that time until Shioda's death in 1994. He lived in Japan as a direct disciple of Shioda for two periods, 1980 - 1985 and 1989 - 1993. As an ''uchi-deshi'', Payet trained 6 hours per day plus time spent providing services for the dojo. He also trained with the 2-3 times per week for 3 years and 5 days per week for 1 year. At the time, the

Senshusei Course
Retrieved on August 27, 2010. is an intensive, 11-month

did not exist, but the Yoshinkan dojo trained the Kidotai, and ''uchi-deshi'' filled in when any of the police were absent.

Overseas instruction

France and England

After living as ''uchi-deshi'' to Gozo Shioda for 5 years, Payet returned to France in 1986 with the intention of teaching aikido. However, the legal and political situation in France at the time made it prohibitively difficult to teach aikido. As a result, when he had the opportunity in 1987, he moved to England, where he had been teaching for two years already. He lived in London from 1987 to 1988 and was appointed technical director of the English Aikido Yoshinkan Federation. However, in 1988, Payet decided he was unsatisfied with his own practice of aikido and requested that he be allowed to return to Japan to continue studying at the Yoshinkan dojo.

United States

From 2000 to 2005, Payet lived and taught in the United States. On moving to the US, Payet made a tour of the country, visiting dojos and observing the state of aikido practice and aikido instruction throughout the country. He initially settled in Minnesota but eventually moved to California, where he taught in the University of California system. In 2001, with the assistance of Kevin Pickard, he founded Mugenjuku dojo in Los Angeles (now "Aikido on Ventura" dojo under David Fryberger, 5th-''dan'').

Annual seminars

Payet is a popular seminar instructor and makes trips to dojos in the United States, England and Russia annually in addition to giving seminars at corporations and universities in Japan. He was present at Gozo Shioda's last overseas demonstration in Germany in 1988. He travels once every two months for about 1–2 weeks, and, in addition to the US, Europe and Russia, he has given seminars in Israel, Qatar, Canada, Poland, Germany, Italy, and Ukraine. In addition to travel seminars, Payet has developed relationships with dojos and individuals around the world, and people occasionally travel to Kyoto for special training or rank testing under his supervision.

Business and higher education

After moving to Europe in the 1980s, Payet represented several Japanese companies in France and England. In the 1990s, he worked in a government tourism office and opened his own company. From 1997, he attended the Centre d’Enseignement et de Recherche Appliqués au Management (CERAM) in

Sophia Antipolis Sophia Antipolis is a 2,400 hectare technology park in southeast France, and as of 2021 home to 2,500 companies, valued today at more than 5.6 billion euros and employing more than 38,000 people counting more than 80 nationalities. The park is ...

, near

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million cold fusion Cold fusion is a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that would occur at, or near, room temperature. It would contrast starkly with the nuclear fusion, "hot" fusion that is known to take place naturally within Main sequence, stars and artific ...

research lab. Eventually, he moved to the United States and began teaching in the University of California higher education system. While teaching, he opened two dojos, in Orange County and near Hollywood.

Mugenjuku dojo

Payet's

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

dojo on

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it is along the commem ...

near Hollywood opened in 2001 and was named . The Japanese word has the connotation of a small, intimate school with a limited number of students and close contact with the teacher (as contrasted with, for example, a university lecture); it is typically used in Japan to describe specialized preparatory schools and is often translated into English as "cram school". means "infinite". The name can interpreted as ''à double entente'', meaning either "the school of endless training" or "the school for learning how to go beyond limitations". When Payet moved to Kyoto in 2005, leadership of that school passed to David Fryberger, Yoshinkan 5th-''dan'', and the school's name is now "Aikido on Ventura".

Kyoto, Japan

Payet returned to Japan in May 2005, settling in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

as the assistant director of ITEC (Institute for Technology, Enterprise and Competitiveness) at

Doshisha University , also referred to as , is a private university in Kyoto, Japan. Established in 1875, it is one of Japan's oldest private institutions of higher learning, and has approximately 30,000 students enrolled on four campuses in Kyoto. It is one of Japa ...

. In Kyoto, Payet initially pursued aikido training on his own without taking on students. However, while training in Doshisha athletic facilities, he attracted the attention of onlookers and eventually began teaching aikido in Kyoto informally in 2007.

Kyoto Mugenjuku dojo

In 2008, Payet opened a formal dojo in Kyoto with the assistance of Yutaka Kikuchi and Masahiro Nakatsuka. The name of the dojo was originally to distinguish it from the Los Angeles branch. Payet wanted a traditional facility rather than a gymnasium for training and found Shiramine Jingū, which has a dojo on its grounds. Payet performs an there every year at the shrine's . Since 2009, branch dojos have opened in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

and in Kyoto at

Kamigamo Shrine is an important Shinto sanctuary on the banks of the Kamo River in north Kyoto, first founded in 678. Its formal name is the . It is one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan and one of the seventeen Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which hav ...

, near Fushimi-Inari Shrine, in the and near the Shijo- Karasuma intersection. In February 2013, the branch dojos were amalgamated into a facility at the corner of Marutamachi and Kamanza streets, to form the Marutamachi Dojo. This Honbu dojo was again relocated next to Karasuma-Oike Station in 2020. The current name of the dojo is simply Aikido Mugenjuku, and current main ''shidoin'' are Yasuda Atsushi, 5th-''dan'' (who graduated from the first year of the Kenshusei Course) and Aoi Kataoka, 5th-''dan'' (a long time member of the weekend kenshusei course). In March 2019, Mugenjuku dojo hosted a 10th-year anniversary demonstration at the Kyoto Butokuden. This demonstration was joined by Aikido officials and Shihan from more than 10 different countries, Kyoto city officials, and hundreds of Aikido practitioners. All who attended celebrated the life and teaching of Payet Sensei and their connection and fellowship through Mugenjuku dojo.

Yoshinkan Senshusei Course

Payet designed and organised the original international , in which foreign students can enroll in the special training course given to the . Prior to 1991, the special riot police training was available to Japanese and to ''uchi-deshi'' but not to regular foreign students training at the Yoshinkan dojo. Payet observed that most foreign students could achieve technical proficiency up through the 1st or 2nd ''dan'' ranks, but did not have an opportunity to advance after that. Payet conceived of the Course and the IYAF (International Yoshinkan Aikido Federation) as a way of building up qualified foreign instructors who could promote the Yoshinkan style of aikido outside Japan. With the approval of Gozo Shioda, Payet developed a plan for a foreign instructor training course to run concurrently with the special police course. The plan was approved, and Payet organised 12 students for the first course, which was held in 1991–1992.

Translation and Publications

While at the Yoshinkan dojo, Payet acted as a translator during the visit of foreign guests, including the famous visit of boxing champion

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

and his promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

. He also took care of foreign correspondence for the dojo and served on the staff of the Aikido Yoshinkan International Newsletter. * Shioda, G. ''Aikido Shugyo: Harmony in Confrontation''. Trans J.Payet & C.Johnston. Shindokan Books: 2002. . * Shioda, G. ''Aikido Jinsei: My Life in Aikido''. Trans C.Johnston & J.Payet. Shindokan Books: 2011. . * Shioda, G. ''Aikido: My Spiritual Journey''. Afterword Y.Shioda.

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

USA: 2013. . * Payet, J. ''Uchideshi: Walking with the Master - Learning What Cannot Be Taught''. Shindokan Books: 2020. .

''Aikido Shugyo''

When Payet was ''uchi-deshi'' at the Yoshinkan, there was a notebook full of technical information and anecdotes of Gozo Shioda. Payet taught himself to read Japanese with the aim of translating this notebook. In 1991, the notebook was released in Japanese, and Canadian aikido practitioner Christopher Johnston made a translation of the book. Together, Payet and Johnston worked with the Yoshinkan hombu and produced an English translation of the book under the title ''Aikido Shugyo: Harmony in Confrontation'', published by Shindokan Books.

''Aikido Jinsei''

Gozo Shioda's autobiography was originally published in Japanese in 1985. Following the success of their translation of ''Aikido Shugyo'', Payet again worked with Christopher Johnston and the Yoshinkan hombu to produce an English translation of the autobiography under the title ''Aikido Jinsei: My Life in Aikido'', also published by Shindokan Books.

''Aikido''

In 2013, Gozo Shioda's son, Yasuhisa Shioda, produced a book of anecdotes about Gozo Shioda and translations of his writing under the title ''Aikido: My Spiritual Journey'', published by Kodansha USA. Payet acted as a translator for portions of this work, while his ''deshi'' Chris Crampton, 4th-''dan'', proofread some of the English text.

''Uchideshi''

Published in 2020 and subtitled ''Walking with the Master: Learning What Cannot Be Taught'', ''Uchideshi'' chronicles the life of a young Jacques Payet during his first arrival in Japan, acceptance into the Yoshinkan Dojo, and his subsequent years of training under the direction of Yoshinkan Founder, Gozo Shioda Sensei. ''Uchideshi'' conveys the hardships faced by practitioners during the "Koganei Era", as noted by Payet Sensei's training partner, and at the time fellow uchi-deshi, Tsuneo Ando Shihan. Through narratives and anecdotes curated from Payet Sensei's personal diaries, he communicates numerous aspects of what daily life for a foreigner practicing ''shugyo'' and '' budo'' in Japan as an ''

'' is like.

Media appearances

Books

Payet is mentioned several times in

Robert Twigger Robert Twigger (born 30 October 1962) is a British author. He travels widely but divides his time mostly between the UK and Egypt. Life Robert Twigger educated at Balliol College, Oxford University. He initially studied engineering, but after s ...

's book ''

Angry White Pyjamas ''Angry White Pyjamas'' is a book written by Robert Twigger about his time in a one-year intensive program of studying Yoshinkan aikido. Summary The book is set in Tokyo in the mid-1990s. Twigger is living with two friends in a tiny apartment ...

'', about the author's experiences on the 3rd Senshusei Course (1993-1994). In particular, in an extended passage that is set at the funeral of

Gozo Shioda was a Japanese master of aikido who founded the Yoshinkan style of aikido.

Television

Payet and his Mugenjuku dojo have appeared on TV in Japan several times. In 2011, Payet appeared in a video produced by the travel program YAJIKITA ON THE ROAD. In 2013, former world champion boxer and TV comedian

Guts Ishimatsu , better known as is a Japanese actor, comedian, tarento and former professional boxer who competed in the Lightweight division from 1966 to 1978. He is a one-time former WBC Lightweight Champion and an OPBF Lightweight Champion. As a boxer, h ...

tried to film a program with Payet although he was traveling in Russia; instead, Guts filmed at Mugenjuku with Payet's '' deshi''. In 2014, Payet appeared on a comedy sketch filmed in Tokyo. In 2018, Payet Shihan and his Kyoto Mugenjuku Dojo hosted champion fighter and TV personality Nogueira Minotauro as a part of an Aikido featured episode of ''The 3rd Degree''. Season 2 Episode 4 features training, instruction, conversation, and demonstrations of Aikido shared between these two men as they tour various dojos and historical locations in Kyoto, Japan.

Other

In 2010, Payet and his ''deshi'' participated in neuropsychology research that lead to the seminar "Japanese spirituality seen in aikido". In 2020, Payet Shihan was part of the #keeptheflamealive interview series hosted by Thambu Shihan in which the history of

Aikido was discussed from a first-hand perspective.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TwyHFI7tQM #keeptheflamealive Interview Series

Kenshusei Course

The is an 11-month-long training course offered at Mugenjuku. Payet designed the course based on his experiences working on the hombu

Senshusei Course
Retrieved on August 27, 2010. is an intensive, 11-month

in 1990-1993 but also on his personal philosophy of aikido, combining the "spirit cultivation" of Senshusei with his own training methods that teach balance and personal development. The Kenshusei Course begins April 1 each year (following the Japanese pattern) and runs for 11 months, ending the last day of February. Enrollees train a minimum of 4 hours per day, 5 days per week and participate in "physically taxing" activities."Aikido Mugenjuku Kenshusei Course"
AikidoMugenjuku.wordpress.com The course breaks only for the holidays of Golden Week,

Obon or just is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ance ...

, and New Year. The course includes two ''embu'': one in early May for Shiramine Shrine's budo festival and one in early November for the annual Yoshinkan Embu Taikai in Tokyo. Students also participate in other special events connected to aikido or Japanese culture, such as visiting the grave of aikido founder

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the Japanese martial art, martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Wakayama, Tanabe, Ueshiba studied a number of ...

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: * Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan * Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama * Wakayama University, a national university in Wakayama, ...

and participating in the dojo's

Kagami Biraki is a traditional Japanese ceremony where are broken open. It traditionally falls on January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). The term also refers to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony. Histor ...

and . In addition to Payet and the kenshusei, course participants include instructors, assistant instructors, and . The Kenshusei was in 2012-13 and included three students from Japan, Quebec, and the UK. Dai Niki (second course, 2013–14) included three students from Japan and the United States. Dai Sanki includes five students from Japan, France, Russia and the United States. Payet also offers a Part-Time Kenshusei course, which meets on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings and is appropriate for older individuals or those with full-time jobs. He teaches this course entirely by himself.

External links

* websites
AikidoMugenjuku.com AikidoMugenjuku.wordpress.com NaraYoshinkan.weebly.com Mugenjuku-Quebec.com

AikidoDelMar.com
* books
view sample of ''Aikido Shugyo'' from Shindokan Books PDF
* photos
Kyoto Aikido Mugenjuku photo album
(includes photos from ''uchi-deshi'' period at hombu) * videos
YouTube Playlist=PLkGZvEW8s52J2fryWcnMvlyG7OYXrfcNg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Payet, Jacques 1957 births Living people French aikidoka Martial artists from Kyoto Prefecture Shihan