
, b. 1940, is an
aikido teacher and founder of the aikido style
Tendo-ryu Aikido (天道流).
Shimizu was born in 1940 in
Fukuoka,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. He had been training
judo since childhood and held a 4th
dan in this art when he changed to aikido in 1963. He then became one of the last personal students of the aikido founder
Morihei Ueshiba. After Ueshiba died in 1969, Shimizu, then with a 7th dan in aikido, founded his own school in
Tōkyō named Tendoryu (School of the Way of Heaven).
Tendoryu Aikido is characterized by its large and clear movements, emphasizing naturalness and harmonic flow of motion.
Since 1978, Shimizu has regularly held seminars in
Germany and other
European countries. A German Tendoryu Society was founded in 1993.
He received the 8th dan aikido from the Japanese Budo Federation in 1998 and has co-authored a book titled ''Zen and Aikido'' () with Shigeo Kamata.
Shimizu received the 'Foreign Minister Award', an award from the Foreign Minister of Japan, on July 16, 2002 for his work spreading aikido abroad. Shimizu-sensei was the first Aikido and Budo artist to receive this award.
In the same year he was invited to the autumn garden party at the imperial palace in
Akasaka, Tōkyō.
References
External links
Tendokan Tokyo / JapanTendokan Tokyo / Japan
Tendoryu Aikido Federation GermanyTendoryu Aikido Federation Germany
Tendoryu Aikido Berlin e.V.Tendoryu Aikido Berlin e.V. - translation from the articles written by Kenji Shimizu sensei.
Aikido Berlin-Süd e.V.Tendoryu Aikido in Berlin Steglitz
Tendoryu Aikido - Denmark Tendoryu Aikido - Denmark
Tendoryu Aikido - Nederland Tendoryu Aikido - The Netherlands
Tendoryu Aikido - BelgiëTendoryu Aikido - Belgium
Tendoryu Aikido / SloveniaTendoryu Aikido / Slovenia
Tendoryu Aikido / SerbiaTendoryu Aikido / Serbia
TendoRyu Italy / ItalyTendoryu Aikido Italy
Tendoryu Aikido / MexicoTendoryu Aikido / Mexico
Tendoryu Aikido RussiaTendoryu Aikido / Russia
Japanese aikidoka
Living people
1940 births
Sportspeople from Fukuoka Prefecture
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