Stanley Pranin July 24, 1945 - March 7, 2017

[Brian King]

Stanley was a gentleman and a scholar. The work he did to further research in the martial arts in general and Aikido in particular can not be overstated. He was fun to work with on the mat and great to talk with off the mat. He will be missed. RIP. Prayers Lifted.

Stanley Pranin
July 24, 1945 - March 7, 2017

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Stanley Pranin Sensei.

...
As many of you know, Stanley Pranin was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer in January. Without a viable Western medicine solution, Stan sought out alternative medicine treatments. Since that decision was made, Stan fought hard with great determination and a positive spirit.

I was able to visit him twice at his home in Las Vegas in February and was happy to see that he was well taken care of by his family and his roommate and friend. Stan shared many stories with me at that time and although in a weakened state, he still projected positivity and endless enthusiasm for the world of aikido.

Despite Stan’s determined efforts, he was unable to regain strength and vitality. He ended his life’s journey surrounded by family at home in a comfortable atmosphere.

It deeply saddens me to bring this news to the aikido community. However, I’m also happy to let the community know that the financial and moral support given to Stan through his fundraising campaign brought him immeasurable comfort and joy. He was truly amazed and humbled to see so many rally behind him.

When Stan began to lose vitality, he asked me to do what I could to keep Aikido Journal active while he focused on his recovery. We'll have more information on the future of Aikido Journal in the coming weeks, but now is a time to pay respects to Pranin Sensei and reflect on his legacy and contributions to the aikido world. We will be be posting a series of his articles and videos on Aikido Journal over the coming days. If you have a story about Stan you'd like to share, please leave a comment on this post or if you have something more in depth you'd like to share, send me a direct message with the details and we'll find a way to share it with the community. (If I'm not connected to you on Facebook, just send a private message on Ikazuchi Dojo's Facebook page.)

Thank you for your continued support. Please go practice some aikido this week. It would make Stan happy to know that you did so.

Sincerely,

Josh Gold

 

[Chris Parker]

A very sad loss of a highly influential, and deeply respected individual. Mr Pranin's impact on Aikido, and on Japanese martial arts in general, was (and is) broad, deep, humble, sincere, and eternally youthful. He will live on in it, through his works, and through those who knew him.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That is sad news. I had occasion to have a couple of brief discussions with Pranin Sensei (okay, he always just went by "Stan" with me) over the last couple of years. He was strikingly humble. That's something you only ever get to say about someone who has had great impact in some area, because somehow we expect them not to be. Stan Pranin was. He was gracious, helpful, and humble. His impact spread beyond Ueshiba's Aikido. The close relationship between that art and NGA meant a lot of NGA folks used Pranin's materials to better understand our art and the body of Aikido arts.

I'll be going back to watch some of his videos today over some whisky, thanking Stan for his contributions to Aikido.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.