Here's an important peice of Aikido history in northern California:

Wendy Palmer sensei speaks about the early days of Aikido of Tamalpais

Interview made on May 2, 2006 with Michelle Keip
Transcribed by Michelle, David and Rory Keip
Photographs by Kat Fitzgerald and Jan Watson (www.Jan-ewatson.com)


I particularly like this part of the interview on the benefit of diversity in the dojo:

"People have often said that training at Tam is like training at a seminar because your training partners feel so different - different styles of ukemi, different ways of attacking, different ways of throwing. I think Tam's history has been tremendously enriched by the influence of all these different teachers coming from different places, and also by the many students who come with different approaches to the art. The feeling at Tam has always been that everyone can train the way they are.


Having a basic criteria for kyu tests was a challenge in the later years at Tam. George, Richard and I weren't attending each other's classes that much any more. We had our own lives and we started evolving differently in our own bodies. So when students took kyu tests, for example, they had to make a decision how to do ikkyo. As teachers, each of us did ikkyo differently. The joke was that they might do iriminage for me, ikkyo for George and shihonage for Richard. Sometimes students would say, "This is the third way I've been shown to do this technique, which is the right way?" and we'd always say, "There is no right way. You need to learn all three."

I think for beginning students it was more challenging to train at Tam because there was no right way to do it. I used to say that in the end this would make them much more flexible, and be better aikido students. It would help them be able to go to a seminar and learn and absorb from any teacher that they wanted to. So we really had a very wide variety of - I'll call it styles, I really don't like the word - different ways of doing Aikido at the dojo. I think it's been a great gift to most of the students that they have more flexibility and can absorb from different teachers."

http://www.bujindesign.com/featured_articles/2006_11_article_1.html

Christian Tissier Shihan, Dartford Feb 2011

Aikido The Way of Harmony Part 2

Here is a brilliant clip from a 1988 documentary on Aikido. It includes incredible footage of Doran Sensei as a very man. In the interview Doran Sensei states that he had been training for 21 years, which would mean that the footage was taken in 1980.

Bruce Bookman Sensei:

"The striking attacks in aikido such as shomeuchi, yokomenuchi and tsuki come from Japanese sword traditions. These types of attacks are classical in nature and when practiced with commitment and intent build strong conditioning, timing, responsiveness and most importantly enhance the kokyu-ryoku, the vital life force energy of both uke and nage. It is a good idea to train one's skills at these attacks, however, it's important to keep in mind that the classical aikido attacks have been adapted from swordsmanship and reflect an ancient paradigm of the samurai who fought on the battlefields of feudal Japan. How they trained and fought were influenced by bushido, the ancient Japanese code of chivalry. The type of attack that one may encounter today, in a dark alley is very different. This leaves the aikido practitioner the task of spontaneously adapting their classical training to the situation at hand. It is of course possible but it takes a very talented person to be able to connect the dots in the heat of the moment."

"Bruce Bookman's response to Stan Pranin's article"
http://www.aikidojournal.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=87464#87464

“Even Frankenstein can do Randori,” by Charles Warren
http://www.aikidojournal.com/blog/2010/12/01/even-frankenstein-can-do-randori-by-charles-warren/

Paul Rest with Eddie Frager Sensei

Eddie Frager – A Martial Artist Making a Difference

Paul Rest interviews Eddie Frager Sensei:

“Aikido is, at it's base a physical art, and as a young man the physical side was most important to me.  The physical side of the artis still very important to me - when I teach we do 5 minutes of  warm-ups and 55 minutes of Aikido, with very little talking.  However, just as importantly, Aikido is also about how one moves through the world, how one deals with personal relationships and community."

http://www.examiner.com/martial-arts-in-san-francisco/eddie-frager-a-martial-artist-making-a-difference

Perceptions And Deceptions, by by Stanley Pranin

"The emphases of the various groups run the gamut from the physical and self-defense oriented all the way to the “spiritually” inclined styles for whom technique is of secondary importance. Despite these remarkable differences, I have often encountered a common characteristic in the mentality of the practitioners of these diverse persuasions. I will refer to it as the “true believer” syndrome." 

"Perceptions And Deceptions," by by Stanley Pranin
Aiki News #89 (Fall 1991)
http://www.aikidojournal.com/article?articleID=605