Origin: Japan
Mochizuki Minoru Sensei is the founder of Yōseikan Budō.
He started his study of martial arts at a very young age and pursued it throughout his entire life. In his long career, he practiced many different martial arts; Judō, Aikidō, Karate, weapons-based arts and many others.
He was a direct student of two eminent martial arts masters, Kanō Jigorō, founder of Judō and Ueshiba Morihei founder of Aikidō. These two teachers had a profound influence on his technical and mental development, especially Kano Jigoro who took a personal interest in teaching him and who is also responsible for arranging his study of Aikibudō with Ueshiba Morihei.
Kanō Jigorō was a great educator; he wanted to preserve the technical curriculum of the various Japanese Jūjutsu schools, who were slowly disappearing after the Meiji era, by incorporating them into his new system Judō. The goal was to educate the students, build their character and body through the practice of Judō thus helping them embrace the new and changing modern world that Japan was then facing.
Ueshiba Morihei was a great martial artist, he studied Daitō-ryū Aiki-Jūjutsu with Takeda Sokadu. He was able to adapt the real war times techniques of the art into a dō, a martial path that could be practice by students without injury. The art became known as Aikidō.
Kanō Jigorō saw a demonstration of the art by Ueshiba and was very impressed. He commented that “this is true Judō” and he arranged for two of his students to go and learn this art at the Ueshiba dōjō. Mochizuki Minoru was one of them. He opened his dōjō in Shizuoka in 1931 where his students practiced Yōseikan Budō Aikidō, a synthesis of the arts studied by Mochizuki Sensei.
Ottawa: 1977-1995
In 1977, Patrick Augé and his wife Sugiyama Kaoru came to Canada to teach Yōseikan Budō Aikidō in North America. Patrick Augé was previously an uchi-deshi student with Mochizuki Minoru Sensei for a period of seven years.
An uchi-deshi is a live-in student, which means that they live in the dōjō with the Master and his family. They attend all the classes, help with chores in the dōjō, etc. Thus, they learn by being present with the teacher every day.
In Ottawa, various classes were taught by Patrick Augé and Sugiyama Kaoru. They established a few clubs and opened a dōjō where they taught Yōseikan Budō Aikidō to many students that eventually developed to the level of black belts and started to teach their own students.
In 1994, they moved to Los Angeles where they opened a new school and trained new students. The Los Angeles dōjō is where teachers and advanced students continue to go and train with Augé Sensei regularly to maintain our standards and learn directly from our teacher.
Ottawa: 1995-now
Various black belt teachers are active in Gatineau and Ottawa area and in the USA.
Ottawa Yōseikan Budō Aikidō School
Sylvie Séguin opened the Ottawa Yōseikan Budō Aikidō School in 2026.
She has practiced the art for over forty years, starting in 1984 at the University of Ottawa under Sugiyama Kaoru Sensei, then, going to practice at the dōjō opened by Augé Sensei and Sugiyama Sensei in Ottawa. After the departure of her teachers for Los Angeles, she continued her training in Ottawa and taught for 15 years at the University of Ottawa. In 2018, she and three other black belts took over the management of the Gatineau Yōseikan Budō dōjō established by Rhéaume Laliberté Sensei, she helped in the financial and site management of the dōjō and supported the teaching as needed.
Opening this new school is a way for her to continue her studies and develop further her understanding of the teachings that she has received from her teachers and continues to receive to this day.
It is a way to give back what she herself benefited from. The pursuit of the study of this art for those who decide to do it will enrich your life in many ways.
It makes us stronger both mentally and physically and prepares us to meet and deal with life’s difficulties with compassion for ourselves and others.