André Nocquet (30 July 1914 – 12 March 1999) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

teacher holding the rank of 8th

dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

. He was one of the very earliest non-Japanese to practice the art.

Early life

Nocquet studied

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

as a young man. He began the practice of

Jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

in 1937 with

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

professor

Moshé Feldenkrais Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais ( he, משה פנחס פלדנקרייז, May 6, 1904 – July 1, 1984) was a Ukrainian-Israeli engineer and physicist, known as the founder of the Feldenkrais Method, a system of physical exercise that aims to improve ...

. Later

Mikinosuke Kawaishi was a Japanese master of jujutsu and judo who achieved the rank of 7th Dan. He led the development of Judo in France, with Shozo Awazu, and much of Europe and is credited with introducing the colored belt system for differentiating early grades. ...

came to Feldenkrais's

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

to teach and Nocquet became Kawaishi’s student.

Aikido career

In 1954, Nocquet was encouraged by

Tadashi Abe (1926 – November 23, 1984) was the first aikido master to live and teach in the west. He began training in Aikido in Osaka in 1942 and went on to train directly under the founder of the art Morihei Ueshiba at Iwama as an uchideshi during World ...

to travel to Japan to see

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

and study at the

Aikikai Hombu Dojo The Aikikai is the original school of Aikido. It is centered on the Aikikai Foundation in Japan, and its figurehead is the Doshu (the family heir of the founder of Aikido). It is represented globally through the International Aikido Federation. ...

. Nocquet stayed for nearly three years (1955–57), living in the dojo; he was one of only two non-Japanese to enjoy this privilege during that early era, the other being subsequently Terry Dobson. This was a difficult time for him as a westerner as there were virtually no other non-Japanese practicing aikido at the time. During Nocquet's initial time at Hombu, he was the only

uchi-deshi is a Japanese term for a live-in student/apprentice who trains under and assists a sensei on a full-time basis. The system exists in ''kabuki'', ''rakugo'', ''shogi'', '' igo'', ''aikido'', ''sumo'', ''karate'' and other modern Japanese martial ...

. Later

Nobuyoshi Tamura was a prominent aikidoka and a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba. The son of a kendo teacher, Tamura entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1953 as an uchi-deshi (live-in student) of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. He was one of Ueshiba's favorite ...

and

Masamichi Noro is the founder of Kinomichi and was an uchi-deshi of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. Formative Years Masamichi Noro was born January 21, 1935, in Aomori, Japan. One of the characteristics of his early years is the musical universe t ...

took up residence there. Nocquet and Tamura, both of whom held the rank of first dan at the time, trained extensively together. He returned to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the summer of 1958. He practiced alongside

when the latter came to France. In 1959-1960 Abe returned to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, leaving Nocquet to teach aikido in France. Nocquet received the rank of 8th dan in 1985,Biography of André Nocquet
guillaumeerard.com. Retrieved 2017-02-12 from his French Aikido federation. Nocquet founded the Groupe Historique Aikido André Nocquet (GHAAN) in 1988 within the Fédération Française d'Aïkido et Budo (FFAB) headed by Tamura Sensei. This structure gave him the possibility to teach autonomously while participating in the technical organization of the FFAB. After his death, Nocquet left the technical direction of his group to his four most advanced students (sixth dan) Jo Cardot †, Claude Gentil, Claude Cébille and Hervé Dizien.

References

Writings

*''O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba: Presence and Message'' (1975) – Originally published in French in 1975 as ''Présence et Message'' and translated into English by Robert Cornman at the author's request, subsequently published in 1994 (private edition), and in 2016 (Amazon). A collection of reflections on the philosophy of the founder of aikido together with some 80 photos of Morihei Ueshiba, Kisshomaru Ueshiba,

Koichi Tohei (20 January 1920 – 19 May 2011) was a 10th Dan aikidoka and founder of the Ki Society and its style of aikido, officially Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido (literally "aikido with mind and body unified"), but commonly known as Ki-Aikido. Aikido Koichi ...

, ''et al''. *''Aikido: Heart and Sword'' (1991) – Originally published in French in 1991 as ''Le Coeur Épée'' and subsequently translated to English in 1996 by Aiki News. The author trained extensively in Japan, and this book contains some of his perceptions of the teachings of O'Sensei, and the basis of the spirit of Aikido.

External links

*"Nocquet, Andre".
The encyclopedia of Aikido
'. 2007. Aikido Journal *"Returns to Japan".
The encyclopedia of Aikido
'. 2007. Aikido Journal *"Heart and Sword".
Aikido Journal Bibliography
'. 2007. Aikido Journal *"Presence and Message".
Aikido Journal Bibliography
'. 2007. Aikido Journal
"Principles of Aikido"
Exclusive article by André Nocquet (in English).
"The force of the Japanese spirit"
Exclusive article by André Nocquet (in English).
"The heart against the sword"
Exclusive article by André Nocquet (in English).
"Aikido - Unification of body and spiritt"
Exclusive article by André Nocquet (in English). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nocquet, Andre 1914 births 1999 deaths French aikidoka