Reno Gazette Journal Article by Frank X. Mullen Jr.

Sensei reaches high rank in Japanese martial art

Vince Salvatore of Reno recently reached the sixth-degree black belt rank in the Japanese martial art of aikido, an honor that took decades of learning and teaching. But that doesn't mean he's a master of anything, he said. “There are no masters; you never master it,” said Salvatore, 45, owner of Aikido of Reno. “You can only try to get better with continual practice.” Salvatore apparently is the first Nevadan to reach sixth-degree rank in aikido, which means “way of spiritual harmony” in Japanese. The art was developed in Japan by Morihei Ueshiba, known as “O Sensei” (Honored Teacher) to generations of students. Ueshiba was a martial arts instructor who lived through World War II and sought a system to resolve physical conflicts without violence. The result was aikido, which makes use of techniques borrowed from jujitsu and other self-defense disciplines. An observer watching an aikido demonstrations sees a teacher's almost efforless reaction in responding to multiple attackers. Bodies fly, but nobody gets hurt. The person being attacked moves in circular patterns, flowing like water, as attackers are thrown outward. “The main focus is harmony with yourself and with whatever attack comes at you,” Salvatore said. “The idea is to neutralize an attacker, not defeat him or hurt him. It's a true self-defense art, not a sporting contest.” The techniques of aikido rely on using an opponent's own momentum against him, rather than meeting force with opposing force. For instance, a student acting as an attacker may grab a fellow student by the wrist, shoulder or arm. The defender moves with the attack, usually in a circular motion, and the attacker's own force of motion causes him to lose his balance and be guided to the floor.

Honor took him decades of learning to achieve

Salvatore trained in Iwama, Japan, for 11 years under Morihiro Saito Sensei, a direct student of Ueshiba. He came to Reno in 1998 and started his dojo (practice hall) with students from the Reno Aikido cooperative, the forerunner of Aikido of Reno. The dojo is a renovated former warehouse on Wells Avenue now has more than 200 students, ranging in age from children to adults older than 60. “Vince is an excellent teacher,” said Randy Onitsuka, 61, of Reno, a third degree black belt who began training at the aikido co-op in 1996. “We have many (skill) levels of students, and he allows everyone to train at their own level. ….There's something there for everybody.” Salvatore, who also teaches conflict resolution seminars, said aikido is mental as well as physical discipline. “Aikido looks at conflict in a very different manner than something won or lost,” he said. “You have a choice. The result of conflict can be win-win.” He said anger, such as in a road rage incident, is an uncontrolled reaction. Anger makes people lose their emotional centers and often results in physical confrontations, he said. “In aikido and in conflict resolution, being centered and in control of your emotions is key,” he said. “That state of calm takes practice, … Aikido is the physical manifestation of conflict resolution.” Being able to control and neutralize verbal and emotional confrontations is something aikido students strive for, he said. “In World War II, O Sensei saw the destruction of Hiroshima and Nakasaki and knew if we all can't get along as people, we may face the destruction of the human race,” Salvatore said. “In aikido, we strive to find creative solutions to conflict that are win-win solutions.”