Alan Ames - Then an Aikido Teacher

Alan Ames was my first teacher of Aikido after I came to Australia in the late 1970s.

I had originally learned a little Ki Society style Aikido while in Hong Kong, but I just didn't like the demeanor of the Aiki-Kai guy who was teaching it in Sydney at that time. You have to 'connect', and we just didn't.

Then I saw an advert which Alan Ames had put in the Northern District Times newspaper. It said Aikido classes were starting up at Epping YMCA, which was about 5 miles (7 Kms) from Ryde, where I lived back then.

Alan had set up mats in an upstairs room at the YMCA, and proceeded to show a few techniques with the aid, if I remember correctly, of Tom Fischer. Anyway, Tom was an early student of Alan Ames, that's for sure. He later dropped out though, and I remember Alan was very disappointed, as Tom was a 2nd Kyu (blue belt).

The Epping "Y" Aikido group was just one of the venues we trained with Alan Ames back then around 1980. The others were at Forestville and in the Pitt Street YMCA in the heart of Sydney. That building is now a giant block of apartments.

I gave poor Alan a really hard time when he started his Tomiki Aikido classes at the Epping YMCA in Sydney's north-west suburbs. I was a real "Doubting Thomas". When Alan demonstrated knife defenses, I insisted on picking up a (rubber) knife and using it as a skilled knife fighter would, with no rush attacks, a slash here and a feint there... And this was with a room full of prospective newcomers watching.

Boy, I made Alan sweat that day! ;-)