The next years were somewhat difficult. Arthur was gradually cutting back on his Aikido commitment and management of Caulfield underwent a turbulent time. In short, the partners fell out. A new teacher was introduced to us, Joe Seagle, an American graded shodan by Tohei sensei on one of his visits to the US. Joe assumed teaching fairly regularly at Caulfield. A consequence of the fall out was that Aikido classes were transferred to a dojo in Box Hill. Teaching there was done by Arthur, Joe and increasingly the senior students, Tony and Keith as Arthur withdrew.
Those of us under driving age had to rely on the guys with cars to get across town. Being young it was all part of the fun. The transport varied from week to week. Most memorable has to be the “fume cabinet”, an old van driven by Geoff Cook, so named because of the exhaust fumes that filled the back where those, unfortunate enough to be picked up last, had to sit. These days the van would be written off as unroadworthy but things were different then – we just opened the windows.
Despite the difficulties, the solid core of students persisted. Tony, Keith, Bob, John van Roessel, John Iouwalatien, Bruce Hatfield et al. For a short time, Tino Ceberano sensei, joined the classes as well. This was an invaluable, early lesson in budo etiquette. Tino was our Karate sensei, a master of his art, but he attended Aikido classes with truly a beginner’s mind. Although we taught him what we knew he taught us more through his attitude to practise. There was no need for a book of protocol, just respect and proper manners.
Eventually, the differences about management of Caulfield were sorted out: As I understand it, Arthur and Susie bought out the other partners and so we returned permanently. However, other dark clouds were on the horizon.
Around 1970 Tony and Keith had visited Sydney to practise under Sugano sensei. In addition to classes at Caulfield, Aikido was taught at both Melbourne and Monash universities. Tony and Keith were gradually taking on more teaching duties. I still don’t know the full story but from what Tony has told me, Arthur saw Tony and Keith starting a rival Aikido organisation at Monash, following Sugano sensei. Arthur simply ordered Tony and Keith to leave his dojo.
At the time the rest of us knew nothing about this. Somehow we got word that Tony and Keith had just left. With them gone, those of us remaining just fell back on our own resources and carried on. Fortunately, John van Roessel kept in touch with Tony and Keith and he passed on to us still at Caulfield that they had been promoted to shodan and they were teaching in Eltham (near Tony’s parents’ home) in a Scout Hall in Boronia and, of course, Monash. This was all in the early 70s when I got my driver’s licence and a moto bike, so could drive myself to practice.
Throughout, John van Roessel and myself maintained classes at Caulfield. I set up classes at La Trobe in 1969-70 while Bob Botterill, who for what seems like a decade, came to practice in his open top MGB, dressed in his keigo gi, sporting a blue belt, and took on teaching at Melbourne Uni. So, without planning, we achieved a fairly wide geographic spread across Melbourne’s suburban sprawl.
As an aside, Keith Townsend went off to Japan around this time to practise at Hombu dojo. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out well for him and he sustained a neck injury before gradually drifting off the scene, eventually marrying a Japanese woman and going to live first in the US and then Okinawa where he died with Parkinsons a few years ago. Tony and I phoned him from Maredsous a couple of years before his death and his life since leaving Australia, typically, had not been uneventful.
Written by Bob Hill Sensei, published April 2025