Christian Tissier Shihan is arguably the most senior and the most well-known non-Japanese aikidoka in activity today. Since returning from his apprenticeship in Japan, he has authored many technical books about aikido.
His first book came out in 1981, the year I was born, and upon starting aikido, I purchased them all and read them countless times in order to familiarize myself with their technical contents, but also with the information about Japan that Tissier Sensei also included in them. I mentioned several times that his books were in no small part instrumental to making me want to come to live in Japan and train at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, sort of trying to follow him in his footsteps. It is only much later after I started that I formally met him, and I would never have thought that one day, I would have some part in the making of one of his books.
Christian contacted me several years ago to talk to me about his plan to publish a new book, which would be his first in over ten years, and he asked me if I would be interested to write some of the sections that pertain to the history of Aikido. I did my best to keep my composure while on the phone, and I obviously accepted straight away. As I hung up the phone, it dawned on me that I might have gotten myself way over my head, but nevertheless, I got to work straight away with crafting the various parts of the text. From that point, Tissier Sensei and I frequently talked on the phone regarding the various aspects of the text, and in particular the angle that had to be taken when approaching the history of Aikido in such a volume. We also regularly discussed on the phone and in person when either of us was travelling to France or Japan, in particular in terms of how the rest of the content and each part complemented each other.
The book is meant to be the crowning achievement of Christian Tissier’s series, a volume that goes over his past, but also highlights his current practice, as well as some of his close students and friends. It notably contains many portraits of influential Aikido teachers. I feel extraordinarily fortunate — and, in all honesty, did not quite expect — to be included in that group of people who are closest to him. I am thinking in particular of my friends Fabrice Croizé and Helene Doué, as we all got promoted to 6th dan during this year's kagamibiraki.
I hope that people will like this book, as it was quite a challenge to put all the parts together in the midst of the pandemic. The book contents is presented in both French and English, in a lavish hardback edition in a cardboard sleeve, and it can be purchased from the editor at this link. If you want to learn more about Tissier Sensei's extraordinary journey, you can read the biography I wrote here. You can also watch the interview I did with his at his dojo in Paris.
