I began Aikido in or around 1995, I was practicing Shotokan Karate and through my teacher heard that there was a guy at the gym he worked at who was about to start a short beginners course in Aikido. I didn't know much about Aikido other than it involved a lot of turning movements which I thought would be good for my Karate. This was when I started training under Steve Colville Sensei (now 4th Dan and heading Iwama Ryu Scotland). I was very impressed with the power and practicality of the techniques, and the ability to control and restrain, which was something I always felt Karate lacked (you either kick or punch or you don't!) and so was very interested from the outset but Karate was what I did so I continued training with that and started practicing Aikido once a week as a supplement. Pretty soon I realised that the two were not really compatible at my level and along with a disheartening amount of politics in our Karate club I decided to devote my time to Aikido.
The classes then were very hard, made up mainly of martial artists from other disciplines which made for a fun class with what we lacked in technical ability being more than made up for with spirit!!! Steve had visited Iwama a couple of times and had invited first Miles Kessler and then, for the next year Matthew Hill to Edinburgh to teach seminars and this really inspired me further. I think what I found so inspiring was not just the power, grace and sharpness of the technique but also the humility that the two teachers had. It was probably Matt and Miles that firmly planted the seed about going to Japan and in March1999 I left for Iwama.
My plan was to stay for a couple of months then travel for 6 months or so before coming home to begin my post as a firefighter but after my first couple of morning classes with Saito Sensei I quickly realised that I would need to stay as long as I could!
I ended up staying for 6 months, sitting my shodan in the June under Saito Sensei. After leaving Iwama I travelled for a couple of months staying at a few dojo's with friends that I had made in Iwama before coming home, most notably Aikido of Fresno with Patrick Cassidy Sensei. (who became one of my biggest influences and my teacher.)
I started teaching once a week, which led onto a couple of times then two or three years ago we started up Takemusu Aiki Edinburgh with classes three nights a week. Our classes have been steady with a core of around 10 regular members with more people coming and going at different times, sometimes the classes are smaller, sometimes bigger. We have also had a number of foreign students train with us and it's been nice to be able to offer them training and friendship in the same way that I was offered it when I was travelling.
Recently we have moved two of our four classes a week (and may be moving a third) into a full time premises that belongs to a Ninjutsu school, it is a full time dojo, and between the two clubs we have managed to get a load of newish mats and things are beginning to take shape. Everything looks good for the future.
We have also held a number of seminars here in Edinburgh over the past few years with Steven and Iwama Ryu Scotland hosting Patrick Cassidy, Miles Kessler, Matthew Hill, Justin Christou, Paulo Corralini and Daniel Toutain.

My most Memorable Aikido Experience
The most memorable part of my Aikido career so far would have to be my stay in Iwama. I have hundreds of memories of that time both from the training on the mat and life off it. One time that stands out and kind of sums up a lot of how Iwama was when I was there was the day after the Tai-sai festival. As uchi-deshi you work pretty hard to get the dojo and grounds looking good for the masses of people who come to visit, and then after you work pretty hard with the clean up. The night after it finished Saito Sensei had a party in the dojo for all the Iwama deshi by way of a thank you. He and his son were very good that way, any time you worked with either of them you were given a nice meal or at the least a few cold bottles of beer. Anyway we had been sat at the low tables set up on the mat eating and drinking when Sensei asked if anyone had a question they wanted to ask him. I have since thought of thousands but at the time could not think of one. Actually whenever I was in the Chief's company I could hardly speak for nerves. Somebody asked how it would be possible to make kote-gaeshi when someone is punching and whipping the arm back like a karate-type punch. Bearing in mind Sensei was 72 and had been drinking beer and sake with us all for some time. He got up slowly with his bad knees and then while standing asked someone to demonstrate the kind of punch in question. One of the Japanese students did this and was pretty quick with the punch. Sensei asked if that was what the questioner meant and then asked the student to punch him in the same way. The student dutifully did so and was laid flat on his stomach as Sensei made a tiny movement and took his hand. The Chief turned to us all and opened his hands, palms out as if to say you just do it like that. Then he sat down and asked if anyone had any other questions.
I didn't have the bottle to ask him how he did it. Things like that happened a lot. The essence of Aikido demonstrated right in front of me, and me left in total confusion as to what just happened.