Nobuyoshi Tamura
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Nobuyoshi Tamura was born on 1933-03-02 in Osaka, Japan. His father was a kendo teacher. Tamura entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo around 1953 as an uchi-deshi (live-in student) of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. He was one of Ueshiba's favorite pupils and since 1964 has greatly contributed to the development of aikido in Europe and France in particular. He is the National Technical Director (DTN) of the FFAB (French Federation of Aikido and Budo). He currently holds the rank of 8th dan, and the title of Shihan. He has trained many others instructors throughout various countries mainly in Western Europe but also in different countries around the world. In 1999, he received the medal of "Chevalier de l'ordre National du Mérite" from the French government. Tamura has published several books on aikido (in French). His dojo (Shumeikan Dojo) is located in the village of Bras (Var, France).
[edit] A list of former students of Nobuyoshi Tamura (to be completed)
- Nebi Vural
- Pierre Chassang
- Robert Dalessandro
- Michael Narey
- Jean-Pierre Pigeau
- Jaff Raji
- Malcolm Tiki Shewan
- Christopher Stöbich
- Toshiro Suga
- Christian Tissier
- Philippe Voarino
- Jean-Yves Le Vour'ch
[edit] Trivia
- He married Rumiko, one student in Morihei Ueshiba's dojo.
- Sent by Morihei Ueshiba, he arrived in France in the port of Marseille in 1964 as the final destination of his honeymoon cruise (he paid part of his trip by performing aikido exhibitions on the ship). In France, he succeeded Tadashi Abe as the Aikikai representative there and decided to stay in this country teaching aikido as a living, despite the fact that he was barely speaking French at that time. Other aikido teachers were in France around that time including Minoru Mochizuki, Masamichi Noro and Mutsuro Nakazono.
- The French Aikido Federation was split into two in the 1980's purely because of political reasons. Those who decided to stay loyal to Tamura were for an independent aikido federation created the fr:FFAB (Fédération Française d'Aïkido et de Budo) from scratch, while those who preferred to remain under the Judo federation (FFJDA or Fédération Francaise de Judo et Disciplines Associées), later became independent as the fr:FFAAA (Fédération Française d'Aïkido, d'Aïkibudo et Affinitaires) under the technical leadership of Christian Tissier. The two once rival federations are now regrouped under the UFA (Union Française d'Aïkido).
- In his early years in Japan, Tamura was acquainted with macrobiotic founder George Osawa. In France, he became friend with zen master Taisen Deshimaru who arrived in this country in 1965 and whom Osawa considered as his successor.
- Tamura Sensei has three sons, one of them, Yoshimichi, having a successful career in the movie industry as an animator. He was the lead animator for the character Helga in the Disney motion picture Atlantis: The Lost Empire.[1]
- Tamura has been made honory citizen of the town of Lesneven, France, where he gives week long yearly summer seminars with fellow aikido sensei Yoshimitsu Yamada. The other two important aikido trainings he gives every year during the summer are Saint-Mandrier and La-Colle-sur-Loup, both in France.
