Month: October 2024

Interview with Granite State Aikido Club Founder Michel Hovan: Remembering Donovan Waite

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After finishing schoolwork, Michael Hovan needed an activity to do and stumbled onto aikido through an international campus in 1981. For higher education and work, Hovan relocated multiple times, training under different instructors until he moved to New Jersey and met Donovan Waite in 1994. From then on, Hovan continued to train under Waite until … Continue reading Interview with Granite State Aikido Club Founder Michel Hovan: Remembering Donovan Waite

Howard Wray: Training with Takahiko Ishikawa

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The following is an excerpt of an interview conducted for the newly released Takahiko Ishikawa: Judo’s Quiet Master, which recounts the life, times, and impact of Ishikawa on East Coast Judo in the United States. Howard Wray retells some of his memories training with Ishikawa and how he approached instruction. Howard Wray found judo through … Continue reading Howard Wray: Training with Takahiko Ishikawa

Interview with Keystone Kokikai Aikido Founder Todd Kupper: Students of Kokikai and its Future

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Todd Kupper began aikido in the early 1990s, with Steven Seagal’s popularity reaching a high point in the United States. He did not find Seagal, but rather Shuji Maruyama, founder of Kokikai Aikido. From his teenage years till now, Kupper experienced many things under Maruyama, including a very close, almost father-son type of relationship. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Keystone Kokikai Aikido Founder Todd Kupper: Students of Kokikai and its Future

Reflecting on Kazuo Chiba’s Life in Aikido

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Klein, Liese. The Life-Giving Sword: Kazuo Chiba’s Life in Aikido. Independently published. 2019. The amount of detail was unprecedented for any one aikido shihan. Such details seemed to be reserved only for O-Sensei or any political figure outside of the martial arts. Liese Klein dove headfirst into Kazuo Chiba’s life, from his humble beginnings in … Continue reading Reflecting on Kazuo Chiba’s Life in Aikido

Interview with Shobu Aikido Founder William Gleason: The Spirituality Elements of Aikido

~ Antonio Aloia ~ 1 Comment

After training with Mitsunari Kanai for six months in Boston and meeting a relative of Seigo Yamaguchi, William Gleason relocated to Tokyo to train with Yamaguchi and explore the philosophical aspects of aikido. In 1980, he returned to Boston to establish Shobu Aikido and five years later, he joined Aikido Schools of Ueshiba headed by … Continue reading Interview with Shobu Aikido Founder William Gleason: The Spirituality Elements of Aikido

Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part II

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Zorie Barber was first introduced to Shotokan Karate with Ski, or Gerald Evans. While in college, Barber felt he needed to go to Japan and train with some of Ski’s contemporaries. He arrived in Tokyo and endured a hostile training environment until he moved out to see Kyoto, stumbling onto the Tenshin Dojo under the … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part II

Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part I

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

Zorie Barber was first introduced to Shotokan Karate with Ski, or Gerald Evans. While in college, Barber felt he needed to go to Japan and train with some of Ski’s contemporaries. He arrived in Tokyo and endured a hostile training environment until he moved out to see Kyoto, stumbling onto the Tenshin Dojo under the … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Tenshin Aikido Practitioner Zorie Barber: From The Original Source, Part I

Reflecting on George Rego’s and Abdul Rashid’s The Founding of Jujutsu and Judo in America

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Rego, George, and Abdul Rashid. The Founding of Jujutsu and Judo in America. Independently Published, 2022. I came across this book while I was conducting research for my recent book Takahiko Ishikawa: Judo's Quiet Master. Much of the beginning information I recall learning from John Stevens' Jigoro Kano biography, but it expands further than that, … Continue reading Reflecting on George Rego’s and Abdul Rashid’s The Founding of Jujutsu and Judo in America