Hirokazu Kobayashi Sensei entered Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1946 with a recommendation letter from his karate teacher, aged 17, and trained as live-in deshi alongside Morihiro Saito, sharing the role of uke to O-Sensei, with Saito following in taijutsu and Kobayashi in the sword. From 1970 to 1996 he travelled to Europe every year for five to six months, teaching across France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and beyond. The body of his transmission, meguri (internal spiral contact), the absence of garde, the equality of uke and seme, and the integration of aiki-ken, aiki-jo and aiki-taijitsu, became known as Kobayashi Ryu.