In this Aikido Journal interview, we sit down with Christian Tissier shortly after he received the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government. Reflecting on an incredible 60 years on the mat, Tissier Sensei shares insights on the true purpose of Budo, his ongoing pursuit of the “perfect axis” in technique, and the evolution of his iconic Paris dojo. He also discusses the state of Aikido in 2026 and why unifying the art’s global message is critical for its future.
Josh Gold: You recently received a very prestigious award from Japan, the Order of the Rising Sun. At this point in your career, what kind of meaning does this have for you?
Christian Tissier: It is a very prestigious decoration, and I was very surprised when the embassy called me to say that the Japanese government wanted to give me this award. I received it, of course, because of all that I’ve done for Aikido in the world, but primarily for the transmission of the values of Budo.
It seems that for Japan right now, it’s very important to have references that aren’t just about business, selling cars, or politics. They want to acknowledge and share with people who understand and transmit the values of Japanese culture. As for myself, I was very surprised and very happy. It’s funny because it happened at almost the same time that Doshu received a similar, though higher, honor. For me, I want to continue with humility and share this reward with all Aikido practitioners in the world. If I received it, it’s because people are coming to the seminars. Without Aikido practitioners, you have no authority.
The True Meaning of Budo
In America and Europe, many people go to martial arts for self-defense, fitness, or personal discipline. Could you expand a little bit on how the Japanese think differently about martial arts and Budo than people might in the West?
I think that Aikido in Japan today is not primarily seen as self-defense. If you go to any Japanese dojo, they teach you, but they don’t talk about self-defense; they just focus on whether your technique is good or not. Self-defense is obviously one aspect of Aikido, but in Budo, you also have archery (Kyudo) or sword arts (Iaido, Kendo), which aren’t really connected to modern self-defense.
For the Japanese, what they want known is that Budo is an educational system for making better human beings. It involves developing a pure gesture—similar to the tea ceremony. It’s about martial communication: meeting people, understanding what they are sharing with you, and holding values like respect, your own integrity, and the integrity of your partner. When they changed Jutsu to Do (like in Judo), it was no longer considered just self-defense; it was a way to keep the spirit of the samurai and these deeper cultural values alive.
60 Years on the Mat: Finding the Perfect Axis
You’ve been doing Aikido now for over 60 years, which is incredible. What is your personal relationship with the art today? At 75 years old, do you ever feel fatigued or bored with the system after practicing it for so long?
When you practice for 20 or 30 years, especially when you are in your 30s or 40s, you have a lot of power. You understand the technique, and sometimes you think you’ve almost finished learning, so you just continue because it’s good physical activity. But it is not like that.
I am really just starting to truly understand how to find the perfect axis, how to move with economy, and how to have a pure gesture. That makes me want to practice more and more. At a seminar yesterday, I focused on having the minimum required gesture—just what you need, as pure as possible.
Sometimes, because we want to push, or be stronger, we create our own obstacles. For example, in a technique like Ikkyo, it’s like riding a bicycle. You have to find the correct axis. You don’t push with the same strength on both pedals at the same time, otherwise, it doesn’t work. You turn around the axis. If you don’t create an obstacle, the partner has no strength to resist.
Like in Iriminage, if you start to push against the partner’s neck, you meet strong resistance. But if you can turn perfectly around the body’s axis, the partner just passes by. It’s like a bullfighter: the bull is very strong, but you don’t stand in front of him and try to stop him or push him. You open the way and let him go. That is my research at the moment.
The Evolution of the Paris Dojo
You don’t spend as much time at your dojo in Paris as you used to, but Le Cercle Tissier has always hosted many different martial arts. What are the differences between a dojo with many disciplines versus a pure Aikido or Jiu-Jitsu dojo?
It’s quite a massive building for a dojo. There are four separate training rooms—the main dojo is 200 square meters, and there are three other rooms of 100 square meters each. Because they have separate entrances, you can have four different disciplines happening at the exact same time without disturbing one another.
When I originally came back from Japan, the man who brought me in to work with him eventually moved out to the South of France and asked me to take over. I bought the building, but of course, I had no money. That financial reality obligated me to invite other martial arts to help run the space. In the beginning, it was primarily Aikido, alongside traditional Karate, Judo, and Yoga.
A few years ago, I made the decision to sell the dojo. Commuting to Paris two or three days a week, going back home, and then traveling to teach at a seminar every single weekend—it was just too much.
When I sold it, the new owners—principally a very famous Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher—took over. Today, they still offer Aikido, but they’ve added BJJ, a small MMA section, and Boxing, which is incredibly popular in France right now. The new owners face the exact same reality I did: it’s a huge facility, and you need money to run that kind of space, which requires offering diverse disciplines to the public.
To be honest, if I were to open a dojo today, I would choose something much smaller. In the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, we had about 500 people practicing Aikido at that center. Back then, even a 200-square-meter mat wasn’t enough space. Today, outside of big seminars, it’s difficult to get 100 people on the mat. The martial arts landscape has changed with the rise of Krav Maga, Systema, and countless other systems.
Generally, there isn’t much cross-training between the practitioners—the mentalities of a Japanese Budo and a Brazilian martial art, for instance, are very different. However, the dojo became famous because it gathered top-level, authentic instruction across all disciplines under one roof, and there has always been a deep, mutual respect between the instructors.
Friendship and Teaching in San Francisco
In April, you’re coming to the United States to teach a seminar at Jimmy Friedman’s dojo in San Francisco. How did you two meet and build such a long-standing friendship?
It’s a very strange story. Jimmy came to a seminar at my dojo in Paris maybe 20 or 25 years ago. He was very quiet and attentive, and because I had so many people coming through all the time, I didn’t remember him.
Years later, I got a message from him in San Francisco inviting me out. Usually, when I don’t know people, I don’t go. I have enough invitations, so I usually ask people to come to my seminars a few times first so we can get to know each other. But for some reason I can’t explain, I said yes and found a date.
When my wife Natalia and I arrived at the San Francisco airport, Jimmy was waiting outside with his son, Lincoln, who was about four or five years old at the time. I immediately felt a connection. Jimmy is much more eccentric than me, but he is incredibly authentic. I felt right away that this was a guy who would never betray me.
That evolved into a true friendship. For years now, I receive a message from Jimmy almost every three days just saying hello or sending a picture. He’s visited my place in France, we went to Corsica together, and when he was in Cambodia for a month recently, he sent me pictures every day. We are like brothers; we really love each other.
I also love teaching there because it’s a very small, intimate dojo. In Europe, I might teach 800 people on the mat in places like Poland, which is a completely different experience. At Jimmy’s, it’s a small group of dedicated people who travel from Washington, Chicago, New York, Europe, and Mexico. I feel a different kind of connection with the people there.
The Future of Aikido
Looking ahead in 2026, with all these changes in society, what are your thoughts on Aikido’s role in the world today and into the future?
Aikido lost people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aikido population is aging; if you’ve practiced for 20 or 25 years and you’re 50 years old, being forced to stop for three years makes it very difficult to come back. Many people went on to other activities like gymnastics or yoga and just continued with those.
Beyond that, Aikido is a very specific activity, and sometimes we don’t know how to “sell” it properly. Because there are many groups, there is no common message. If you ask someone, “What is Aikido?” some will say it’s self-defense, others say it’s esoteric and about “Ki,” and others say it’s an educational system.
We need to be clear. I think the Hombu Dojo is clear: they don’t say “come and you will be stronger.” They say Aikido is a cultural Japanese Budo activity. Without a unified message, people can attend a seminar, see what we do, get inspired, and then go back to a dojo in their hometown and hear a completely different philosophy. The techniques might be the same, but what people say about Aikido is different. As a community, we really need to think about unifying our message for the future.
Congratulations again on the award and I hope to see you in San Francisco in April. Thank you again for taking the time to chat with Aikido Journal.
If you’re up for a trip to San Francisco, you can train with Tissier Sensei at 11th Street Dojo April 3-5, 2026. Learn more and register here.
