Iwama Lineage

Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969)

As a student of the traditional Japanese martial arts and after intense spiritual investigations, Ueshiba created aikido as a non-contentious solution to conflict. Ueshiba's life was active and varied. He served in the army, became a frontiersman in the far north of Japan, lived in a religious community, and was a respected martial arts instructor to Japan's elite.
In 1942 Ueshiba left his official positions in Tokyo and moved to the small, rural town of Iwama to concentrate on his practice of aikido. Iwama became the cradle of modern aikido and Ueshiba remained there until his death in 1969.

Morihiro Saito (1928 - 2002)

Saito began studying with aikido’s founder in Iwama in 1946 and he worked and trained closely with Ueshiba until his death. Saito held a unique position as Ueshiba’s closest student in Iwama and was witness to the birth of modern aikido.
Upon his teacher’s death, Saito became head of the Iwama School and guardian of the Aiki Shrine. He was internationally renowned as an exponent of ‘no-nonsense’ aikido as a martial art and made important innovations in teaching the seamless relationship between weapons and unarmed practice. From the 1970’s he taught extensively around the world but his home was Iwama until his death in May 2002.
Click here to read more about the relationship between Ueshiba and Saito

Alan Roberts (1970 - )

Roberts was an apprentice of Saito in Iwama between 1988 and 1994. He maintained close contact with his teacher until Saito’s death and was a preferred partner at international seminars. More recently, Roberts’ aikido has been much influenced by his work in Hellerwork, a form of body re-education and therapy and by his training with Peter Ralston, the revolutionary martial artist and creator of Cheng Hsin. Roberts thus maintains the legacy of Iwama aikido at his dojo in Auckland, gives seminars around the country, and continues to draw from the best of contemporary sources in the development of his practice and teaching.