We quickly adapted to this new style.
Then Abbe Sensei dropped a "bombshell" on us: we would all have to be regraded to meet the current standards of Hombu Dojo. The grading was physical and mentally demanding. At its end, Abbe Sensei lined all the eight Dan grades up and said that he accepted our ranks - with the exception of one. He looked at that one for a timeless moment and said, "Necessary sell your gi while price is high." Even after 37 years, I have not forgotten that sentence. Abbe Sensei took away that students rank.

In the early 1960's I was asked to conduct an Aikido demonstration at the British Judo Council's National Judo Championships in London. Among the VIPs in attendance were the Japanese Ambassador and Lady Baden Powell, the wife of Lord Baden Powell, who was then the head of the World Organization of Boy Scouts. Kenshiro Abbe and Otani Sensei emphasized how important this evening was and that they wanted an impressive display from the Aikido people.
While we were waiting to go on, a Judo man came up to Otani Sensei who was speaking to the Japanese Ambassador, and said, "Hey, Smiler." I couldn't believe the disrespect, and took the man to one side. We were having a confrontation when Derek Eastman, who was outside smoking a cigarette, told me that we were due on stage immediately. We rushed onto the stage.
As I performed the first technique, Mr.Eastman's cigarettes and matches fell out of his gi onto the stage. I was already upset from the incident with the Judo man, and now the embarrassment! I smashed Mr Eastman all over the tatami and back again.
Later, when we weredoing a knife technique with a live blade the knife went through my gi and I felt the cold blade against my stomach. I thought, "My God, it's in me!" I dropped onto my knees with Mr Eastman in an immobilization, and I looked down at the front row. Looking up at me with shock and horror was her Ladyship. I knew by the look on her face that any hopes we had of her sponsoring Aikido were over. After the display, her Ladship said, "That was the most horrific display of violence I have ever witnessed." The Japanese Ambassador congratulated us on a excellent demonstration. (On inspection, I realized that the blade had only grazed me.)

Abbe Sensei brought over from Paris a young 5th Dan, Noro Sensei - the first sensei we had seen in a white hakama. Noro Sensei was perhaps the most graceful of all the teachers I have ever seen to date.
There then followed many other teachers: Tada Sensei, Hishomura Sensei, Tadashi Abbe Sensei, Tamura Sensei and Chiba Sensei. I was with Chiba Sensei for several years.
Chiba Sensei and I taught Aikido in a dojo at The Times newspaper in London. We were asked to take part in a 30-minute broadcast on the BBC world radio. Sensei asked me to do all the talking because, at the time his English was not very good. A television producer who had heard the broadcast asked if we would do a demonstration on Anglican TV. We agreed.
While we were waiting for our slot on TV, we were taken to a hospitality room, where the had just about any drink you can imagine. The hostess asked if we would like drinks. I thought a Jim Beam would go down well, and I said, "Sensei can we have a drink?" "Yes," he replied, but before I could order my Jim Beam he ordered two orange juices.
Some of the Aikido I have seen in recent years depresses me because it can only be done by two Aikidoists who practice together on a regular basis - like a pair of dancers who know each others moves. But Chiba Sensei's style of Aikido is effective. If I wanted Yoga, I would study; if I wanted dance, I would take dancing lessons. I believe that Aikido not only has to look good, but also be effective.

Once I had to go to see Abbe Sensei at his apartment in Acton, London. (He shared a house with Otani Sensei, a 7th Dan in Judo, and his son Tomio Otani, a good friend of mine who was the national coach.) The house was like a martial arts museum with suits of armor, swords, and other weapons scattered around.
From childhood, athletics has been one of my great loves. But the one sport I cannot watch is our English game of cricket. So you can imagine my disappointment when I came to the house and found Abbe Sensei, Whom I viewed almost like a god, watching the cricket, "The World Series." The windows were open, and small birds and pigeons were flying around the room. Carefully choosing my words, I said, "Sensei, I didn't realize that you liked cricket." "I don't," he said. "I watch this boring, stupid game every day, and still don't understand it." He then said something very true: "They call it the World Series, but it is only played in countries that Britain conquered."

Eventually, Williams Sensei, whom I believe to the best Aikidoist in the United Kingdom has ever produced, began studying Ki Aikido with Tohei Sensei while a group to while I belong remained traditional.