aster MINORU MOCHIZUKI was born in 1907 in Shizuoka. His grandfather was the last descendant of a lineage of Samourais and was teaching the art of the sabre. Mochizuki Minoru's father on the contrary was just a peasant, who was at first the grandfather's pupil, before becoming his son-in-law and taking his name. His father having settled in Tokyo, young Minoru started there to study judo, at the age of 5, at Master TAKEBE's.

At 17, he enrolled in Kendokan, which was then the dojo of TOKU, the great judo master and unrivalled fencer. Soon after he enrolled the dojo of Master Kano, the Kodokan. Awarded the 1st dan in June 1926 at the age of 19, the following year he passed the 2nd dan and became the assistant of Master MIFUNE KYUZO, an expert in the art of sutemi.     Master KANO, wishing to have the young judokas not forget the ancient arts, created in 1928 a section of kobudo KENKYUKAI, and paid professors of Katori shinto Ryu to teach their art to the judokas. Master Mochizuki became so enthusiastic about this art that he was proposed to marry the daughter of the SOKE (heir) of the school, IIZASA Morisada, dead with no male heir, and to become therefore the new soke. Since this situation would have required from him to settle in Narita, and therefore to leave Master KANO, Master Mochizuki refused this proposal. n 1930, Master Kano sent him to study a new art with a master of increasing fame, Master Ueshiba (see biography). Similarly, he had him study Shindo muso ryu ju jutsu with Master SHIMIZU. Master Mochizuki became rapidly the assistant of Master Ueshiba and was awarded a degree of Daito ryu in 1933, then the menkyo kaiden in 1935.     In the mean time he returned to Shizuoka, where he opened a training room in November 1931 : the YOSEIKAN (house of the teaching of righteousness). After World War II, Master Ueshiba did not use the term aikibudo anymore to designate his art, but aikido instead. Master Mochizuki therefore called the art he was teaching Aikido Jujutsu. n 1938, during the China-Japan war, Master Mochizuki was sent to Mongolia, then appointed sub-prefect of the district of Sei su ga. He took that opportunity to teach the Mongols judo, kendo and aiki jutsu. It is at that time that he met another Japanese coming from the Ryu kyu (an archipelago South of Okinawa), who initiated him to Karate. For aikibudo students, it is important to know that from this encounter was born our Happoken kata, which teaches the eight fundamental forms of fist techniques. In several occasions at that time, he had the opportunity to confront his techniques with the Chinese martial arts. n 1947, he went back to Japan and re-built his dojo in Shizuoka. Soon after, he came to France. It was the year 1951. He stayed in France three years. Having come as a member of an official cultural mission, as a deleguate expert for the Kodokan, and therefore Judo, he took the opportunity to show Aikido ju jutsu, an art which captivated a good number of judo students, as well as Iai, kendo and some Karate. He went back to Japan in 1953. n 1954, a young Judoka, enthusiastic about what he saw in France, was admitted to the Yoseikan of Master MOCHIZUKI. His name was Jim Alcheik, he stayed there three years, and back to France, he taught what he was given, under the name of Aikido of the Yoseikan, created the French Federation of Aikido Tai-jitsu and Kendo, and was the first teacher of Master Alain Floquet.     Since 1970, Master Minoru Mochizuki welcomes periodically Master FLOQUET in the Yoseikan, as well as his main disciples. He also came to direct seminars in France at several occasions. Master Mochizuki is died on the 30th may, 2003, in Aix en Provence - France.