Page 3 - Hiroshi Kato Shihan

Page 3
Robert Frager, Ph.D. – Founder Sofia University, USA
I first met Kato Sensei in 1965. We were introduced by
one of my Aikido friends at Hombu Dojo, Yamamoto
Yosuke. When he introduced us, Yamamato-san said,
“This is Kato Sensei.” I was surprised as no one at
Hombu Dojo was referred to as “Sensei” except for those
who were teaching at the dojo. I have called him Kato
Sensei ever since. I trained fairly often with Sensei for the
next two years. Sensei was definitely the strongest
Aikidoist I ever trained with at Hombu Dojo.
When I went to Iwama a day before the Aiki Matsuri in 1965, I was surprised to see Kato
Sensei there. We prepared the shrine and the dojo for the Matsuri. We had dinner
together and I was delighted to spend this informal time with Sensei.
In 1974 I returned to Japan to devote myself full time to
Aikido training in Shingu. When I visited to Hombu Dojo, I
trained with Kato Sensei for one class. I could do absolutely
nothing, unless Sensei let me. I still remember trying to
perform katate tori ikkyo with him. I could have done chin
ups on his arm and it wouldn't have budged an inch.
In 1996, Kato Sensei began to teach in the US. I went to his
first class at Jimmy Friedman's dojo in San Francisco. I expected an hour-long class, but
it lasted for 3 hours. Sensei was so generous he wanted to teach as much as he possibly
could. He was the most generous of men.
For the past 10 years, Sensei stayed at my home twice a year, when he taught at my
dojo in Palo Alto. He was the most thoughtful house guest I have ever had, and it was
always a great pleasure for me and my family to host him. He felt like a member of our
family.
Every time Sensei came to the San Francisco area I was again amazed at his Aikido. I
learned to cope with the repeated revelation of how little I knew compared to him. Every