The seminar led by Francesco Re and Andrea on November 1st offered participants a vivid sense of something rare – an echo from Japan.

We first met Francesco in the middle of the pandemic. In 2021, Simone Chierchini asked Andrea to co-host an interview with Alessandra Scialla featuring Francesco. That conversation later gave birth to an insightful book, “L’Allievo” (“The Student”) -a window into the life of someone who chose to live, work, and practice Aikido in Japan.

From that meeting -open, spontaneous, and genuine- a friendship grew. In 2023, Francesco welcomed us to Tokyo. Later, during a visit to Italy, he joined us at Hara Kai, the Dojo where we train under Marco Rubatto. The connection deepened, on and off the tatami.

After his final return to Italy, Francesco became the special guest of our most recent “Aikido Signature”, one of the seminars organized by Novum Experience. These events are designed to give everyone -not only our students- the chance to meet Aikido teachers of exceptional depth, who can bring that something extra that helps transform both how and why we practice.

Because if we truly use the word seminar, then it must mean what it says -a moment for sowing and cultivating human growth. After hundreds of events across Europe, the U.S., and Japan, we can admit that, despite good intentions, not every tatami is fertile ground.

At times, one senses fatigue -moral, pedagogical, organizational, relational- hidden behind repetitive forms, habitual meetings, or a sense of obligation rather than choice.

That’s why this echo from Japan mattered. The secret of the success and resonance of Francesco’s seminar lies in its focus on the person -Francesco himself, first of all, and every single participant.

Francesco could, by virtue of his background and expertise, have chosen to teach from above.

Many do. He didn’t.
Instead, he simply revealed himself -his path, and the reasons behind his pedagogical choices.

They say a great chef is judged by how he prepares something as simple as scrambled eggs.
In much the same way, Francesco’s methodical progression on ukemi tackled a subject that appears simple -yet, as with all simplicity, requires deep roots to express. His teaching created a direct line to the Aikikai Honbu Dojo, showing a living methodology that reflects the ongoing evolution in how falling is taught in Tokyo -far from the rigid, crystallized approaches seen elsewhere.

Feeling that connection to tradition -and realizing that tradition means not immobility, but adaptive intelligence- inspired everyone. Participants engaged themselves, stepping beyond their habits and comfort zones.

To complement Francesco’s exploration of active reception (ukeru), Andrea proposed an incremental experience of decision (kimeru). From the constant dialogue between these two polarities arises the whole dynamic of Aikido practice.

This became a technical journey through disarming techniques, revealing how the movements proposed by Francesco and Andrea overlapped perfectly -whether performed empty-handed or with weapons such as the bokken and jo.

Listening to an echo from Japan, one that resonates from the Founder’s earliest experiments, ultimately means accepting the uniqueness of Aikido’s principles -and, through them, the uniqueness of each practitioner’s experience.

Styles are the product of personal interpretation -the way one practitioner distills and transmits experience- but styles are not Aikido itself. Aikido is not merely physical expression, nor can its values be confined to an abstract, esoteric language.

In closing, we feel we can make three simple statements:

First, to give, one must constantly replenish. We are deeply grateful to our teacher, Marco, because while what we share comes from our own effort, it’s also true that the foundation -the patient sowing- was laid by him from day one. The same is true for Francesco, who travels hundreds of kilometers each week to teach and keep learning.

Second, a new generation of Dojo leaders is emerging -highly professional, open-minded, fully dedicated. Young people who, despite demanding jobs, have chosen to invest deeply -sometimes entirely,- in transmitting what gives them structure. Among them, we fondly mention the team at Wabi Aikido House in Turin, whom we visited the next day. Their dojo quite literally “smells good” -in every sense. That scent carries a distant echo too: among the participants were instructors and practitioners with forty or fifty years of practice behind them, whose enthusiasm lights the path for those following their legacy.

And finally –that echo from Japan.
It reminded us that Aikido is a living art, continuously reshaped by human sincerity, curiosity, and connection. It’s up to us to keep that echo alive -not by repeating it, but by listening to it deeply, and allowing it to transform us.