One of the genuine benefits of (stubbornly) persisting with this project (despite the typical difficulties associated with the pursuit of wisdom vs monetary gain) is that when I hear a testimony so inspiring, so indicative of Aikido’s positive impact, it instantly assuages all doubt that I’m on the right path.
Scott Berg Sensei’s early life was beset with some pretty significant challenges, beginning with being born deaf. His hearing was eventually gained around his third birthday, following a successful (second) attempt at tympanostomy tube insertion.
This procedure, of which Scott Sensei was one of the earliest recipients, occurred after the natural developmental window for learning speech. As a result, he faced a severely delayed path in acquiring language.
He struggled substantially to communicate verbally, noting that he could not pronounce his own name in the seventh grade.
The severity of his difficulties led to a frightening (thankfully ignored) misdiagnosis when a psychiatrist at a children’s hospital suggested to his parents that he be institutionalized, because the doctor could not teach him to speak.
Compounding his struggles, he experienced relentless bullying in school, which fostered a deep sense of social isolation and otherness. This adversity forged a unique psychological coping mechanism: he became a master of seeing the world in the third person, observing his own life with a narrative distance.
This perspective cast him as an undeveloped character in his own story.
Scott Sensei credits finding Aikido as the pivotal moment which helped him bridge this gulf, as he finally found a setting where he felt secure enough to connect, and began to write himself into the “first person” narrative. (He notes the full-circle irony of how his current focus is on how it’s not all about “you”.)
Another aspect of his journey I find incredible is the breadth of his experience. Having trained in over 600 dojos (!), Scott Sensei has opened himself up to an almost incomprehensively vast array of lineage and culture, developing a perspective on Aikido that is both profoundly broad and remarkably deep.
Thanks to this incredible talk with Scott Sensei, I‘m thrilled to learn of another great teacher and transmitter of O Sensei’s Aikido I’d previously never heard of, Hiroshi Kato Sensei.
(I haven’t dug deep enough myself yet into Kato Sensei’s story to write anything of substance about him, but I do suggest you listen to this episode to hear Scott Sensei’s glowing affirmation of his Sensei’s relatively unheralded importance to the Aikido world.)
Scott Sensei is also a thoughtful writer. I’ve been deeply inspired by my recent discovery of his Substack. That’s how I found him. (See, sticking with Substack is paying off, after all!)
His ability to articulate the essential aiki-quest many of us find ourselves on with such eloquent brevity is amazing. His hard-earned voice is that rare combination of technical legitimacy and poetic vulnerability.
I should take note…
Recording this episode flew by. Which is how I know it was a good one. One of my personal favorites so far.
Don’t miss it!
And don’t forget to check out his dojo! Aikido of Alamo
