“Sensei Williams was the most kind and generous man I have ever met. He changed many people’s lives forever, including mine. He has left a rich and powerful legacy, which, as teachers and students, we must ensure remains truthful and uncorrupted.”

“I feel so lucky to have studied with Sensei Williams in the 90’s – at that time he taught many day courses around the country and I attended many of the ones in the London area and in the South. He also taught the annual summer seminar in Somerset – that was before the Headquarters was built and completed (in 1999), so we would take over Mark Village Hall.

Sensei emphasised the importance of ki – how natural movement was needed, how we all need to work on relaxing more, creating softness with strength and intention. Despite talking about this invisible energy, which could have sounded very mystical and ethereal, he was a very down-to-earth person and he kept the focus clear – body and mind unified.

He would often get all the dan grades (black belts of varying levels) to stand in a line on the mat – it was a long line usually, a good 2/3 or more of the length of the mat, with everyone standing close together, facing forwards. He would get a fairly new student to stand facing the front of the line. He’d get them to push the first person in the line – of course, the first or second person might move a little but it wouldn’t do any good and the whole line would be solid behind them.

Sensei Williams would then show how to extend your mind to send ki all the way down the line and beyond. Nothing would happen for quite a few seconds and then each person in the line would gradually start to crumple, and the last five or so, would go careering backwards. I remember being in that line on one occasion and I felt as if a needle and thread suddenly passed through the core of me, and in that split second, I was destroyed. It was the strangest feeling.

Sensei Williams had such great knowledge and ability but he talked about always learning, and how we all learn from each other. Even in his later years, when physically infirm, the spark was always inside him, and the interest in passing it on to others, still shining bright.”

“Every time I feel a twinge in my back, I think of Sensei. When I first became a dan grade, he taught a Ki therapy class, which we did as part of our dan grade classes, and chose me for a demonstration. He asked me to lie face down and explained that Ki could help detect injuries. Holding his hand about eight inches above my spine, he said, “For instance, I can tell you have a problem here.” He then pressed a spot on my back that made me wince. It was somewhere I occasionally felt discomfort, but I had never given it much thought. Sensei said he did not have time to treat it and advised me to speak to my own Sensei. She was unwell then, so I did not want to trouble her. Thirty years later, I wish I had followed his advice and every time I feel the twinge I think of him.”

“The first course with Sensei Williams that I attended, he said “I don’t teach martial arts, I teach daily life”. As a teacher he was always giving you what you needed, not what you wanted. In the moment it could feel anything from exhilarating and incredible to annoying and puzzling, but his gift would stay with you and change your life. Takes a bit of time for those gifts to sink in into daily life, but I keep practising and hoping to pass them on.”

“My first Summer School as a fresh yellow belt, sitting on the bench in the courtyard having a smoke, and Sensei sits down next to me. ‘All right son?’

I’ve been through interrogation training, and they could learn a lot from that one question!

We spoke about the army, my respect for his lunatic regiment and his of mine. We spoke about Judo. We spoke about other arts. We spoke about Aikido. We spoke about a journey. And that was it.

I had started my journey.”

“When I was 1st kyu, I was attacked in a club. Having been struck once, I offered no response and my assailant apologised before he was thrown out. I spent the next few days hating myself – I was furious that I’d been hit and that my Aikido training had all been for nothing.

The following weekend, Sensei taught in Newmarket. At the end of the afternoon, he threw multiple ukes around in an amazing display. Then: “Of course, that’s not real Aikido. You can’t see real Aikido. If you can see an ikkyo or a kotegeishi in there, it’s just training. Real Aikido looks like nothing. Someone might even hit you in the face and you do nothing, and they apologise. That’s Aikido. Some part of you might flare up with fury, right enough, but that’s just your ego.”

As he spoke my anger swelled up with righteous fury, but when he named it as ego, it popped like a balloon and I was left calm and whole again. Sensei’s words, spoken off the cuff, allowed my upset to evaporate.

That’s when I learned that Sensei’s Aikido is not in the exercises we study on the mat, but in the way we try to lead our lives and in the good we might offer to others. It taught me that real Aikido is an invisible gift for those that need it most.”

“Wonderful teacher. I am very thankful for everything he shared. A huge positive influence on my life, without him I’m not sure I would have had the guts to work in Russia and establish a club there with my husband.”

“He totally changed my life. I’ve been living with the benefits of his teaching since 1991. An inspirational, unique person, who spread knowledge and love. He empowered so many people with grace and insight. We have lost an amazing man. I am very, very sad.”

“My thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with Sensei Margaret and her family, and with all the teachers and friends who shared so many precious moments, years of dedication, friendship and joy with Sensei Williams.

His presence, wisdom and spirit have touched so many lives, and the memories he leaves behind will forever remain in the hearts of those who had the privilege of knowing and practising with him.

This is not only a great personal loss, but also a profound loss for the history and legacy of Ki Aikido in Great Britain.

May his spirit continue to inspire us on our journey, and may the beautiful memories of him live on through all those whose lives he touched.”

“He was a huge influence on my life, which impacts the way I think and behave everyday. My thoughts are with his family and the thousands of students who knew him.”

“As I’m writing this, I’ve just finished teaching a Juniors class. I started as a Junior myself many years ago and I was still a Junior (just!) when I first met Sensei. I had the privilege of being taught by him many times but that first encounter sticks in the memory. He had just corrected me on a yonkyo exercise with a tenkan finish, and after retrying, he called me his favourite student! I’m sure he had many over the years, and that my youth played a part, but to a thirteen year-old kid, it meant the world.

The Federation has been in my life quite literally for as long as I can remember. It has taught me respect, discipline, peace, calm, and empathy. I don’t know what kind of person I would be without it. I’m forever grateful to my classmate who first introduced me, all my teachers and fellow students over the years, and of course, to Sensei Williams, without whom none of this would be here.

Anytime he was present his enthusiasm was evident in every word and his immense energy poured forth with every movement, however small. Anyone who met him can also attest to his sense of humour, which emanated through all his teaching. His joy for Aikido was infectious, and I carry it with me as best I can.

It’s one of the great privileges of my life to teach Ki Aikido under the Federation banner. We all carry forward Sensei’s Aikido, and we will continue to uphold his values.”

“A life lived inspiring thousands of people to become better versions of themselves is an amazing legacy. I’m glad I was lucky enough to be one of those people. Best wishes to Sensei’s family and all his Aikido family.”

“My earliest direct memory of Sensei was as a yellow belt at a course in Barrhead. He threw me to demonstrate a point to our small group using second form tenkan ikkyo. I have never felt anything like it before nor since. I was firmly hitched onto the rollercoaster from the moment I grabbed his wrist to the breakfall. At no point could I have escaped early, and there was no collision at all. The whole throw was like being carried through on a quilt. We all talk about the single good shot in a round of golf which keeps you coming back. That throw has done that for me for over thirty years of Ki Aikido. I think about it and remember how it felt when I practise or teach. I will continue to do so in the years to come.”

“When I first met Sensei Williams in 1982, I was captured by his charisma, his London humour, and his phenomenal skill in aikido. From then on, I made it a point to attend as many of his seminars as I could. His teaching was precise, crystal clear, and always delivered with down-to-earth language, and of course a twinkle in his eye.

The best times of my life were the balmy summer seminars in Somerset, camping out as a group, inspirational classes with Sensei, lunches at Salad Days, more classes in the afternoons, evenings at the pub, then start again the next day for a whole week. Because of his exposure to Abbe Sensei, then later to Koichi Tohei, his understanding and feel for ki was amazing, soft yet powerful.

Sensei used to say, “I sometimes remember what Abbe Sensei told me long ago, and I finally understand.” To this day, I, too, continue learning from Sensei Williams, realising things he had said but I had ignored. I am ever grateful for his teaching and caring, and hope to pass it on to my students and the aikido world.

Sensei Williams was my rock and inspiration through troubled times as a young person. To me, he was larger than life, and an example of greatness as a teacher and aikido exponent.

I only wish I had listened more carefully to his stories about the early days of aikido, and that I had kept in touch with him and the KFGB. But life took me down many paths in distant lands.

Sensei was truly a giant of British aikido, and, I dare say, of universal aikido.”

“Sensei Williams was an inspiring figure. One of the rare people who can command respect, speak profoundly and make you laugh – all at the same time!

It has been a great privilege to learn from him. He dedicated his life to the learning and teaching of Ki Aikido and it showed. He was a phenomenal practitioner and teacher of the art. I always appreciated his passion for communicating its values and principles not as an addition to but as a prerequisite to its techniques.

For example, he would stress how honesty and integrity are central to our practice and the virtues of being the best and most true version of yourself. This made a lasting positive impact on my life and the lives of so many people. I think it helped us become better people and to some extent make the world a better place. We continue, in our own ways, to pass this on and do our very best to keep the spirit of his teaching alive.”

“I began practising Ki Aikido in 1991, when—through an act of great generosity—Sensei Williams started sending instructors to Romania. 

I met him, along with Sensei Margaret, briefly at a seminar in Paris in 2009, yet the impression he left upon me remains profound.

Thinking of him now—as he has moved on to join such magnificent company—I feel neither sadness nor a sense of loss. The only emotions that arise are joy and the deep confidence in the art that he instilled in me.

All of us who still practice, as well as those who no longer do, owe him an immense debt of gratitude and thanks. The world has become a better place because of him.”

“Thank you Sensei and Mrs Williams for giving your lives to passing on this art and–for me personally–so much of what has been and is most precious in my life. I thank you every day.”