Interview with Thomas Blair: Takahiko Ishikawa and Growing Judo in the Modern World

This is a transcript of an interview with Thomas Blair of Main Line Judo from the spring of 2019. In it, we discuss his time under Takahiko Ishikawa, judo in the Philadelphia area, and growing the art in today’s social climate. Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Hello Thomas Blair Sensei! I would like … Continue reading Interview with Thomas Blair: Takahiko Ishikawa and Growing Judo in the Modern World

COVID-19 and the Aikido Community: The Aiki Extensions Initiative

On April 16th, Aiki Extensions hosted what would become the first of many conferences, bringing together aikido practitioners from all around the world. In an effort for solidarity, event organizers Robert Kent, Jamie Zimron, and Quentin Cooke invited speakers from Israel, Turkey, Greece, Poland, and other locations to convey the effects of the recent COVID-19 … Continue reading COVID-19 and the Aikido Community: The Aiki Extensions Initiative

Changes in Aikido’s Curriculum: Is it Really Warranted?

In an intimate room, painted with large wall posters and filled with recording equipment and small computer monitors, two men sit at opposite ends of a table donning headphones and conversing through microphones. To one side sits Joe Rogan, the comedian/martial arts podcaster and on the other, sits neuroscientist Andrew Hill. In the course of … Continue reading Changes in Aikido’s Curriculum: Is it Really Warranted?

Reflecting on Irvin Gill’s Key Principles and Rules of American Kenpo Karate

Gill, Irvin B. American Kenpo Karate: The Key Principles and Rules of American Kenpo Karate. Spring House, PA: Tambuli Media, 2019. Irvin Gill was on a journey. In discussions with various Kenpo masters, founders and high-ranking practitioners in Filipino-based martial arts, and an aikido fifth dan, he found the blueprints to his answers. The blueprints … Continue reading Reflecting on Irvin Gill’s Key Principles and Rules of American Kenpo Karate