The Late
Shihan William Smith MBE
6th Dan So Hombu

William Smith was known to many Aikido students throughout the world as a generous teacher with a sincere sense of love for both his art and his students; many of whom became close personal friends and in this short article I will attempt to outline the main points of the life of this remarkable man, always known as Bill to family and friends.

He was born on the 1st July 1929, to Ernest & Laura in a row of terraced houses which shared a communal courtyard (known as the "fish shop yard") and even communal toilets! One of seven children (one of whom died in infancy) Bill was part of a close-knit family which extended to numerous cousins many of whom kept in touch until his death.

As a boy Bill was a choirboy at St. Matthews Church until he was evacuated during the war, initially to Bromsgrove although the family was split up, which was not to Ernest's liking. At that time Ernest was working at Danks Engineering in the Black Country and one of his workmates lived on his own in Birch Coppice (on the site where Bill lived until his death) and asked Ernest if he would like to bring his family their. The deal was struck and so the family moved in with the man thereafter known as "Grandad Sam". As the property was only a two up two down cottage on a small holding this meant building what was really a shanty on the side of the property for the boys to sleep in with the girls all sharing a room in the house. Bill often said (in fact even on his death bed) he must have been one of the few men to like Hitler as it was his bombing of Birmingham which led to his move to the Black Country where he met his wife Gladys. This was undoubtedly the most important thing that ever happened in his life and they remained devoted to each other throughout his life. During this time Bill always maintained his interest in all sports but particularly boxing, football and gymnastics and at age 18 was given life membership of the Birmingham Athletics Institute where he was a PTI. As a member of the army cadet boxing team he also fought an exhibition bout in Lichfield during the war where he met Jack Dempsey a famous heavyweight world champion in the inter-war period.

At the end of the war he was also selected for a gymnastics team to visit Russia but unfortunately couldn't go because his family couldn't afford to meet their share of the cost. Ever afterwards he said that no matter what his children's ambitions he would do his best to fulfil them because of this disappointment. By now he was settled into his career as a butcher and in 1951 he and Gladys married and started married life in rented rooms in Birch Coppice. Bill however determined to build a home for his family and so began construction of the house known to so many people in Birch Coppice, which was completed some seven years later. By this time Bill & Glad had two children, Diane & Philip and so this house was a true family home on the plot where Bill had been evacuated to as a child. Bill still retained his links with the BAI and this led to his interest in Aikido when in around 1961 or 2 he saw a demonstration there. He was immediately hooked and began training regularly, both at the BAI and the Niko Academy of Budo in Small Heath. This led to him starting his own class in West Heath at the Community Centre in Fairfax Road, which many Aikidoka will remember with affection and continues to host a dojo until today. In 1966 he met Kazuo Chiba who had been sent to Great Britain from Japan as head of the Aikikai of Great Britain and the two forged a deep friendship which continued until his death.

As a result of this Aikido relationship Bill became an important and influential figure in the Aikido world. In 1973 he was given the position of Head of National Coaches for the Aikikai of Great Britain (now the British Aikido Federation) a position he held until his resignation from the BAF in 1986; when he formed the United Kingdom Aikikai. This was Followed by is appointment to the Superior Council of the International Aikido Federation on its formation in 1976, where he served three terms of office until 1988. This was the year that saw the UKA gain recognition by the Hombu dojo in Japan, the first time a second Aikikai had been recognised in a member country as a result of his efforts which were fully supported by Chiba Sensei. In the following years his reputation grew both as an Aikido teacher and as an individual, gaining students and friends in places as diverse as America, Greece, Serbia, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan. Bill was honoured by Birmingham City Council in 2001 for his contribution to Aikido and in 2002 was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by the British Monarch for his services to Aikido, the first person to be so honoured. This was followed by his appointment to Shihan (Master Teacher) in 2003, the pinnacle of his Aikido career.

In 1996 Bill was unfortunately diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and at that time it was estimated that he would survive around two years post-diagnosis. In typical style he was determined to both fight the disease and continue to live life to the full in the company of family and friends as well as continuing his Aikido career.

In fact he continued to teach and train (continually bemoaning the fact that he couldn't take ukeme) until earlier this year and in February I was privileged to accompany him and share the teaching on his last ever seminar at the Phoenix Dojo in Coventry. Bill died on 24th August 2006 at the home he built looking out over his beloved garden surrounded by his family. He will be sorely missed by them and by the literally thousands of people whose lives he touched. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy in the UKA, whose future we discussed just six days before he died.

Dad

A truly remarkable man who despite his success and prestige in the Aikido world remained an extra special and loving husband, father, grandfather and more recently great-grandfather. He made each one of his family feel more important to him than life itself and gave each one of us a wonderful feel of fulfillment which will remain with us forever.  

Thank you dad.

From

Diane xxxxx

To Mrs. Smith, the family and friends,

On behalf of myself and the whole body of the Hellenic Aikido  Association, I would like to express our heart felt condolences for  the passing away of Mr. William Smith Shihan.

His great contribution to the art of Aikido in Greece is something that we will always remember and appreciate.

He taught and guided us through hard times always with wisdom, kindness and sincerity. He was sensei and friend to all of us and his great courage in life and death will be a shining example for years to come.

Thank you sensei for everything you taught us and all the good times we had together.  We send you love and fair winds to follow you on your journey to eternity.

Your memory will live with us forever.

Our love and deep sympathies to Mrs. Smith, family and friends

George Koliopoulos
Chief Instructor, Hellenic Aikido Association

In life Mr Smith brought us great joy and happiness.

With his passing a great sadness as entered our hearts.

But at the same time he as given us the courage to go on.

He was truly an inspiration to us, and he will be greatly missed.

Our hearts go out to Gladys, Phillip and Dianne and all his family.

All at the Australasian Aikikai share in your grief.

What a loss to Aikido, Ren Shin Kan and mankind.

Sylvia and Colin Hackett

To me, Mr Smith is all about love - I believe that he thought that this was the most important thing in life. His first love was his family, but he touched many, many people with his wonderful love. I think his aikido came
from love and that he practiced it with love in his heart. On courses, when he was teaching a class, he would spend a bit of time walking around at the beginning saying hello to people. When he came up to me to greet me and give me a hug, this always lit me up.

Years ago, one time when we were in the pub having a chat after class, he said that he wasn't a spiritual person. I was really surprised as he is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met, but I think this came from him
subconsciously and didn't need any formal declaration. Because love is a feeling, this doesn't die when a person dies, but remains with us for all time. So Mr Smith will always be with me, every day in my heart.

Anne Milner

Mr Smiths passing away will be a great loss not only to myself but all those others whose lives he has touched in some way through his love of Aikido. I worked with Mr. Smith for over half my life and during this time he came to become much more than an Aikido instructor, he was a dear friend and mentor who shared a common dream with 'O' Sensei of achieving peace and harmony with humanity through the practice of Aikido. This is what the name "AIKIDO" alludes to, this is what Mr Smith stood for in my mind. To this end he was diligent in his teaching of the "Standard" basic Aikido which is being promoted by the current Doshu. To Achieve this he had to sacrifice his own style of practice. There are very few Aikidoka in the world who have made this personal change for the good of the art and all that it stands for and it is to his great credit that his heart was big enough to make this change, a change that has undoubtedly benefited The UKA for many years.

For me, it would be an even greater loss if the work of Mr Smith was not perpetuated as it is his work that has made the UKA the successful organisation that it is and I for one will do my best to build upon the work he started through basic technique.

I believe that because of what he has given, he will never really leave us, for there is a little bit of Mr. Smith in each and every one of us. Lets make the most of it, let's continue Mr. Smiths dream.

Guy Needler

With great sadness I was informed about the passing away of our dearly loved Shihan William Smith. Please accept my sincere condolences. I will always consider myself fortunate to have met and practiced with sensei.
Harris Fytros Fukushinkan Dojo, Greece

Please accept our deepest sympathies for your  great loss of your beloved husband and our beloved sensei .

from fukushinkan dojo athens peter moulagiannis. katerina athanasiou

Brian and I would like to express our deepest sympathy to you all during this sad time. Mr Smith was a great man, for whom we had so much admiration.

He truly inspired us and had so much to give. He will be missed.

All our thoughts are with you.

Brian and Christelle from the Phoenix Aikido Club, Coventry

Please accept my sincere personal condolences to the British Aikido community after the loss of William Smith Sensei.

I was fortunate enough to see William Smith Sensei at the seminar in Belgrade, Serbia in 2002. His gracious manner Aikido and personal humanity touched me deeply and left a lasting mark on my attitude towards practice and understanding of Aikido.

Sincerely

Jelena Drvendzija 2nd Dan
Belgrade, Serbia

I, and everyone at Gloucester Aikido Club are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr Smith Sensei. It is hard to express in words the impact that Mr Smith has had on the lives of those who have been fortunate enough to have known him and trained with him. He was a man of great vision, compassion and wisdom - truly an inspiration to all. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Andrew Moseley-Packer, Gloucester Dojo

We are very saddened on hearing the passing of William Smith Shihan. On behalf of Hong Kong Aikido Kan we like to convey our condolence and deepest sympathy to Mrs. Smith and Family and members of Ren Shin Kan on the passing of a beloved husband, father and a great teacher.

Smith Shihan and Mrs. Smith visited Hong Kong on their way to Hombu Dojo and taught at the Hong Kong Aikido Association. Afterwards we had dinner at the Fish Village in Kowloon . We still have fond memory of Smith Sensei and the charms of Gladys. Smith Sensei is sorely missed.

Michael Leung MBE(Kan-Cho)
Angela Lee(General Secretary)
Hong Kong Aikido Kan

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Smith famliy at this time. Sensei W.Smith was an inspiration to us all.

Steve,Alison,Hannah,Harriet and Imogen Davies (Ren Shin Kan)

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Smith Shihan. He was a truly immense man with great leadership qualities and determination and of whom I have only good, kind and respectful memories. I only met him personally a handful of times but it was an absolute honour and pleasure to be taught by him and to practise under his guidance. To Gladys, Philip and the rest of his family, my thoughts are with you.

With love and support, Susha (ex-UCLU Aikido)

Dear Philip,

I just received your e-mail.

I was shocked when I heard about your father's passing from Mr. Kobayashi while I was in Japan in September. Please accept my deepest sympathy, specially to your mother. I have met thousands of people in my Aikido carrier and your father, Mr. Smith was the finest person and quite a gentleman. We worked so many years together for Aikido society. He has been very generous to me and always supported my opinions at international Aikido meetings. I also respect his bravery for fighting against cancer for over 10 years. He will remain in my heart as well as in others of all Aikido people in the world.

Y.Yamada