Williams Sensei strictly controlled Aikido in the United Kingdom for approximately 15 years. No one would start a dojo or take a seminar without consulting with him first. But Aikido has now grown far beyond our early expectations, and many factors have broken up the special unit of dan grades that once existed.

I was not politically minded in the old days, and I have not changed. Sometimes students telephone me and ask what style I practiceor what organization I belong to. Before they tell me their allegiance, I just say, "if you practice Aikido, you are more than welcome to attend our dojo."

On my next visit to the US, I hope to visit Alaska. The secretary of the Ellis School of Traditional Aikido (ESTA) in Alamogordo, Mrs. Aida Prazak, has moved to North Pole in Alaska, with her husband, who is a captain in the United States Air Force, and she hopes to open an Aikido school in the area in the near future.
Whan I was last in the United States, I taught in New Mexico at the El Paso University, where I recieved a very warm welcome. I also taught at Roswell Military Academy and Holloman Air Force Base.
When I last saw Nakazono Sensei he asked, "What are you doing now?" I told him how things were. He said, "Henry, you think you are only 20 years of age. You should slow down. You are a old man." But, if I refrain from looking in the mirror, I can go on pretending I am a young man in heart and mind - thanks to a lifetime of Aikido.