After searching for something I can really get into, I finally found aikido at Aikido Yoshinkai Burnaby.

I was looking for some kind of martial arts training, and aikido was one of them in my mind; although I had never actually had a chance to see it while I was in Japan . I found some aikido dojos near my home and went there to see what aikido was all about and to see how the training was. I had heard about Mustard sensei from some people before, so I also decided to go watch a class at his dojo despite the fact that it was quite far from my home (I do not have a car). On the way to the dojo, I was secretly thinking that I would not be able to commute this far several times a week for training.

I still clearly remember the day I met Mustard sensei and his students. As soon as I opened the door and stepped into the dojo, I immediately felt something special there and my heart started pounding remembering my martial art (kendo) days in high school. Sensei was very friendly and nice to me, but it was hard not to notice his martial artist's eyes looking straight into my eyes (in a nice way!).

Soon after that first visit and one trial class, I joined the dojo. I have now been training for about three and a half years, four days a week. What I have learned and gained there was not only aikido itself but some other important things for my life.

In our dojo the students take care of each other while they train very hard, and I feel perfectly safe and comfortable training there. Mustard sensei is truly one of the greatest teachers on the planet, and he gives you everything he knows if you are willing to try your best.

People say that martial arts training is good for kids to learn about discipline, confidence and respect along with physical and mental strength. It is also true to adults, but you can not gain these things at just any dojo. In this dojo, you certainly can!

My favorite Japanese proverb is, “Ichigo Ichie”. I always remember this proverb every time I talk about or think about Mustard sensei and our dojo. I feel very lucky to have found this dojo, and I am so proud of being one of Mustard sensei's students. I think it is necessary for anyone to have something important and precious that makes them strong, and when they have tough times in their life, they can get through them because of that “something”. To me, this dojo is it, thanks to sensei and my fellow students, and I am so grateful for that.

I would truly recommend anyone – kids, women, men, the young and the old – to come and see this dojo. If you are looking for something special in your life and have the right attitude, this may be the place for you too.

Yoko Davies (September 2006)

Looking for a truly non-violent martial art to teach your youngster confidence and discipline? Yoshinkan Aikido may be just what you've been looking for …

As a conscientious parent, I spent quite a bit of time examining the various local martial arts kids' programs. Remembering my own aborted martial arts experience as a youth, which mostly consisted of kicking and punching accompanied by loud screams, I was looking for something different for my son. I wanted something that would teach him the discipline and confidence of martial arts training, but without the emphasis on overt violence. I felt that my energetic 6 year old just wasn't old enough to appreciate the restraint required to not damage someone with a strong kick or punch. Furthermore, being something of a peacenik at heart, I really wanted him to learn the so-important life lesson that violence is really, at its heart, counterproductive. After a few fruitless months of searching (and 3 program visits later) I almost gave up. Then a friend of mine suggested aikido and, specifically, the Yoshinkan Aikido dojo of Robert Mustard Sensei.

Arriving for our first visit to the Burnaby dojo, my son and I were greeted by Mustard Sensei himself (he teaches all children's classes unless away teaching at another dojo). At the time, I hadn't realized that we were meeting with an internationally-renowned martial artist — one of the best aikidoka in the world. He was simply a nice, friendly fellow who explained the format of the children's classes, a little of his philosophy about teaching them, and that we should sit and watch the upcoming class and, if we wished, join in. My son, being keen to start his ‘samurai' training, jumped in immediately. I sat at the back of class and watched.

The class was impressive. Unlike many kids' martial arts classes, these children learned the same techniques that are taught in the adult classes. The same discipline is also taught, such as waiting patiently in ‘seiza' (Japanese sitting) and being polite to Sensei and each other during the class. The children practiced ‘kamae' (basic stance), pivots, controlled falls and other exercises designed to train timing and balance. Though the basic moves were practiced alone, for most of the class the students were partnered up to practice techniques that required cooperation, with the older students helping the younger ones and all of them being corrected by Sensei or his assistant.

It was lovely to watch. Mustard Sensei's control of the class was perfectly balanced between respect for him as the teacher (no messing around allowed) and rewarding the students with technique-focused games at the end of class. Hugs at the end of class were readily given to Sensei; the children clearly adored their teacher.

With regards the art itself, that was even more impressive. During the class Sensei would occasionally demonstrate a technique for the children. He would perform it with the senior adult student of the dojo, who comes to assist with the children's classes. The children sat in awed silence as the senior student ‘took Sensei's uke', which usually involved being flipped very efficiently onto the mat. Aikido training looks very elegant and gentle; some liken it to a dance. In studying aikido there is a big emphasis on learning to control one's body through good posture and balance. But at the same time it is a very powerful and effective means of controlling an attack. The thing that sets aikido apart from other martial arts is that it is mainly used defensively. Its techniques rely on an attack from an opponent, ie. no attack, no need to engage (however, at higher levels, it can be used effectively offensively too). Given the complex world our children are growing up in, I think that teaching children skills to replace and redirect violence is a wonderful lesson for them to be learning.

The other thing that impressed me is that there are no tournaments and no trophies in Yoshinkan aikido, and no coloured belts in Mustard Sensei's dojo (he follows the traditional belt system of the Tokyo headquarters dojo of using only white, brown and black belts). It's completely non-competitive. The children's motivation to do well comes entirely from the example of great teachers and from themselves. Or as Mustard Sensei told the children “I will teach you all I know about aikido so you can be the best you can be. But the one thing I can't make you do is try hard. No one can do that, because that can only come from you. This is true not just in aikido, but in everything in life. So work hard and study hard. Always do your best and I will be proud of you no matter what.”

And that's another lesson that I think our children could do well hearing.

Michelle Unrau (September 2006)

(Michelle herself is now training regularly at the dojo)

This past weekend, a few of us from Toronto went up to see Mustard Sensei at the Seikokan Dojo in Windsor , as guests ... to learn more from this spectacular teacher.

Lemmon Sensei and his dojo are a spirited, ambitious and energetic group, whose aikido is getting stronger and stronger.  Mustard S ensei's incredible understanding of the riai of Yoshinkan Aikido, along with his brilliant teaching style has the potential to bring all of us closer and closer to understanding the core of Yoshinkan.

Personally, Mustard Sensei has made my aikido 10x more interesting and inspiring, and I can't get enough of him. He is willing to teach anyone that will give their effort and energy.  This is indeed, a special gift to all of us!

In short, we all know that aikido is about 'circles', which we use to go around our opponents power when we encounter resistance (or their 'power').  As Mustard Sensei says, "every pamphlet in aikido ever printed talks about using the opponent's energy to unbalance him, or using circles to redirect the opponent's energy …"

Yet, most of us make 'gears' or 'cogwheels', at best, according to Chida Sensei. If you want to make 'circles' rather 'cogwheels' in your technique, invite Mustard Sensei to your dojo.  As he says, he is the Kevin Costner of Aikido: 'if you invite him, he will come...'

Marcel Booth (November 2005)

Seikokan Visits Mustard Sensei in British Columbia

After bringing Robert Mustard Sensei to Windsor twice in the last year, Sensei Lemmon led a group of Seikokan students to Vancouver, British Columbia to train with the man himself. Jim Demers, Rick Reaume, Joe Simon, Aaron "Max" Brockmann and myself rounded out the August trip. Mustard Sensei and Vicki Smart put us up and proved to be most gracious hosts.

Training at Mustard Sensei's dojo was quite an experience. The L-shaped training space has mats that are slightly softer than hardwood floors but were excellent for basic movements. As far as I could tell, no one training or teaching in the dojo was from B.C. One of the great highlights was meeting and working with the "Iranian Wonder", Farshad. Farshad (Shodan) is one of Mustard Sensei's senior students, and the most incredible Uke I have ever trained with. Working with Mustard Sensei and Farshad, one can't help but improve.

It would be pretty hard to break down all the technical points that were emphasized during our time at Aikido Yoshinkai Burnaby but certain themes emerged. Throughout all the techniques, we were encouraged to relax, avoid using strength and to shift into a more "West Coast" pace. The theme for Uke was soft and fluid. This approach allowed Sh'te to feel the natural line of the technique. Although we are always told that Sh'te and Uke work together to help Sh'te understand, this experience raised the bar on this understanding. Now that I have had a few months to digest it all, what I learned from Mustard and Farshad about Uke was the valuable part of the training.

The whole of the trip was amazing, and not just for the impact on us. Mustard Sensei and his students commended our spirit and thanked us for what we brought to them.

Rob Bondy (October 2005)

Last week I traveled to Vancouver to train with Robert Mustard Sensei in his Burnaby dojo. I trained for 4 nights in his "regular" classes.  I had been a student of Robert Sensei's in Japan and for almost two years in Vancouver before moving to Texas .  Last week was something all together different though.

First off, since I was a visitor, I was treated with a great deal of respect from Sensei's students and like a long lost friend from Sensei himself.  I was amazed at the family like feeling I got from the dojo. That alone motivated me to train hard and often.

Secondly, the classes themselves were just incredible.  The spirit in the class is infectious and the focus of his students is enough to motivate anyone to become the best they can.

Thirdly, Robert Sensei teaches in a way that you can quickly understand the most advanced ideas and apply them to your own techniques.  He is a great teacher in that way and also the way he keeps the classes interesting and dynamic. In 4 nights I have seen a dramatic improvement in my power and precision of technique (including eri mochi).

Lastly, if Robert Sensei just relied on his interpersonal skills and teaching style alone, he would be considered one of the best in the world.  However there is more.  He sliced through my 6'2" 220lb frame like a hot knife through butter. He destroyed my balance while smiling and telling jokes to his class. This is the "magic" of Aikido, but he explains that there is nothing magic about it, and he shows you how to do it!

I would encourage anyone interested in improving their Aikido quickly to visit Robert Sensei in person. He is one of the best in all regards. Thanks again to everyone at the Burnaby Dojo for such a great week!

Mick Chambers (February 2005)

Mustard sensei is incredibly strong, incredibly powerful ... but I learned at clinics he has done in Ontario that it is not his 'muscle' that makes him strong ... it is EXACTLY the opposite: he does not use muscle to throw, and it equates to incredibly powerful technique. I COULD NOT BELIEVE HIS TALENTS.


The first such convincing technique he ever did on me was hiji-shime.  Most every other top teacher that has done this technique to me has had the ability really injure me (I am thankful that they did not do so).  When O heard about Rob Mustard's reputation of power and strength, I expected that he would CRUSH my elbow into a pulp ... this was my anticipation. 

The result was that I was put into submission aka 'hiji-shime', but the technique did not hurt, and yet it was EXTREMELY powerful (I could not get out of the lock, nor did it injure me in anyway ... a real test of my understanding of aikido since this is THE yoshinkan technique that goes AGAINST our natural joints???!!!!)


That was two years ago; since then I have been blown away repeatedly by this man's incredible teaching ability, AND his talent/understanding of what Kancho might have called 'riai' of aikido.  I had the opportunity to ask him about this, how his techniques could be so powerful, so different, and yet not cause injury to his ukes; his response was VERY interesting.

He told me about something Kancho said to him when he was training/teaching in Japan.  Kancho told him that when he throws his ukes with tremendous power (as we have all seen in the yoshinkan videos that mark the art that Kancho left for us all), his ukes LIKE
being thrown this way -  this was a key difference between Kancho and some of his peers, according to him.

What does this mean?!  It meant that when Kancho threw you, it felt like a wild roller-coaster ride:  you felt like you were going 'die', but when it was over, you were left with a thrill of having been launched through time and space, and came out completely unscathed, with no pain, etc.  Kancho, of course, could not use his 'muscles' to throw anybody ... he was a very small man, AND he got better when he was older (accounts told to me by Chida Sensei).

And that is the beauty of the Honbu Yoshinkan aikido that has been left for us!  But there is a definite formula for attaining this level, and after training and getting to know Mustard sensei's students in burnaby over the course of my vacation (I trained over 14 hours with him and his students while O was there). Ii have to say that his students have/are attaining a level of yoshinkan talent that is VERY RARE outside of the top teachers and their students in Japan - the Takeno Senseis, the Chida Senseis, etc.

Mustard sensei is extremely friendly, positively competitive (yes, yes, I know ... no competition in Yoshinkan aikido, but we all compete on some level, and the grinning, smiling cheery competitive spirit that inspires us to train is the GOOD kind of competition, imho), and sincerely powerful. 

He achieves his great power and skill by using his body to effect techniques; muscle most often cancels out the effectiveness of a technique, and usually causes pain or injury to uke (muscle, in truth, is what we do when we try to resist our ukes).  In this way, he is closer to kancho's ideal than many of us may know!

Most people are not aware that they (we, haha!) are using muscle.  Mustard sensei has come to the incredible realization of this truth and he is extremely honest with himself and his aikido.  He is able to scrutinize himself to the point of improving himself beyond levels he attained when he was in Japan. He is actually BETTER than he was 9 years ago when he left the Honbu.  I think this is because he has tremendous understanding of the precepts that Kancho has left for us all.. he tirelessly keeps working on them!

Correct centre line, relaxation, of body and mind, and moving around uke's power ... these are the fundamentals that he teaches and does.  No matter how much I tried to resist his techniques, I could not do technique the way he did it, I could not.. until he put my body in the position it needed to be in, then got me to relax (easier said than done!).  The result was that I too, was able to perform some of the incredible feats of moving uke while he resisted, and so on. I WAS COMPLETELY AMAZED.

In sum, not many people can perform the kihon waza and kihon dosa that Kancho left us, in the same spirit and understanding that Kancho had.  Kancho was a very small person (his physical size); he was never able to lean on the 'crutch' of muscle when he performed
aikido: he had to understand his opponent's power in a flash, he had to know how to relax his body on command, he had to understand his centre line, and how it can be used powerfully to effect throws, locks, etc on his ukes.  This, in the end, is why we carry his title
(Yoshinkan - house of cultivation of the mind).  The tools he left us are the kihon dosa and kihon waza (to accomplish all of this).

I think that it is 'too bad' that Mustard sensei is a man of strong physical size, because he has acquired incredible understanding of the kihon in our art: the best understanding I have yet to find.  I think that people make the MISTAKE that he is so strong that he will crush you. He, in fact understands the Great Paradox of aikido, literally, the REASON we all signed up in the first place:  we are to use the opponents power against him or her ... never colliding with it.  Instead, circular motion through effective use of our own bodies produces incredible, magical, brilliant results.  This is what the Yoshinkan is supposed to give us, and when I went to visit Mustard Sensei in Burnaby this past week, i realized that yes Virginia (I mean-- Burnaby, lol)... there IS a Santa Clause!

Marcel Booth (December 2004)

I heard about Sensei Mustard's technique when I was just a white belt in London, Ontario (1992). My instructor at the time (Chuck Bates) and my seniors were astonished at the level of expertise and knowledge that Sensei Mustard possessed at that time. On the weekend of November 5, 1995, I was fortunate to experience his technique and personality for the first time. I still tell my students and fellow aikidoka about that weekend. Front strike first control pin number one was introduced to me with a power that I had never experienced. Sensei Mustard was able to take the most basic of techniques and make it almost magical. In just a couple of clinics, he left many others and me with a thirst for more of his teaching.

The following year I witnessed who he had learned this magic from. During a clinic with Takeno Shihan, I saw Sensei Mustard take uke like I have never seen (until later in videos). Each time he was thrown or taken down, he rose with enthusiasm (and a grimace) to spread the wisdom. He not only translated for Takeno, but he helped instruct other students with Takeno's approval.

The following 2 years, he did the same with Chida Shihan. How many have the knowledge and the blessing to assist with their teachings? This privilege speaks for itself. What is even more interesting, is that when the mats are cleared at the end of the clinics, the more serious students tend to gravitate towards Sensei Mustard for additional instruction.

Under the advice of my instructor Sensei Kimeda, I have visited Sensei Mustard on a number of occasions for training. Over the last seven months, I have been privileged to have Sensei Mustard's continued instruction during my monthly trips from Seattle. Many other students have flown to study under Sensei Mustard for weeks at a time. One student, Curtis Seeger, has completed the foreign instructors course, been exposed to Yoshinkan Aikido worldwide, yet chose to move to British Columbia to continue his study under Sensei Mustard.

Just as we must look beyond the tangible movements of a technique, we must also look for the subtle strengths within our instructors. I strongly feel that we must look well beyond the credentials or Dan-level of our teachers. For me, the recommendation from my instructor, the actions of those who fly across the country for his teaching, and the technical expertise of his students speaks volumes worldwide. I invite those to experience Sensei's Takeno, Chida and Kimeda's spirit and teaching joined in unison, yet emanating from one individual. I find that with each visit, this amalgamation of Yoshinkan Aikido resonates in concert with the love he shares for his wife Carol and their daughter Emily. For serious Aikido students in North America, I feel his teachings are mandatory.

Todd Shewman (August 1999)

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