In preparation for my nidan test in 2014, I was required to compose an essay in how aikido has positively effected my life. Below is how I felt aikido effected my life during that time. Aikido has changed me in many different ways. For starters, aikido has given me an opportunity to take my frustration … Continue reading How Aikido Changed My Life
In the spirit of finding an activity to further connect with his Japanese ancestry, Andrew Sato found aikido through the help of two community members. After trying out a single class with Fumio Toyoda, Sato was hooked and proceeded to train relentlessly with Toyoda until the latter’s passing. In the aftermath, Sato, under the direction … Continue reading Interview with Aikido World Alliance Founder Andrew Sato: Fumio Toyoda and Moving Forward, Part II
In the spirit of finding an activity to further connect with his Japanese ancestry, Andrew Sato found aikido through the help of two community members. After trying out a single class with Fumio Toyoda, Sato was hooked and proceeded to train relentlessly with Toyoda until the latter’s passing. In the aftermath, Sato, under the direction … Continue reading Interview with Aikido World Alliance Founder Andrew Sato: Fumio Toyoda and Moving Forward, Part I
Over the last several months, MAYTT has been conducting a large number of aiki-based interviews as well as working on similar related editorial content for the chronicle.Due to such a high volume of newly populated material, we here at MAYTT are officially declaring June to be Aiki Month! In addition to all the new content … Continue reading Aiki Month June 2024
For Barbara Litt, aikido was not on her mind until one of her friends invited her to try a class; and that class was led by Shuji Maruyama, Kokikai Aikido’s founder. That first class and how the community welcomed her on the mat convinced her to train. Since she has joined the Kokikai Aikido community, … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh Founder Barbara Litt: Kokikai in America, Part II
For Barbara Litt, aikido was not on her mind until one of her friends invited her to try a class; and that class was led by Shuji Maruyama, Kokikai Aikido’s founder. That first class and how the community welcomed her on the mat convinced her to train. Since she has joined the Kokikai Aikido community, … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh Founder Barbara Litt: Kokikai in America, Part I
The Japanese Ninja boom of the 1980s left a mark on Lee Relf, so much so that he sought out ninjutsu. He found it in Arizona with Peter Crocoll and quickly enjoyed what he was learning. Since then, Relf has trained with numerous instructors from Japan and Europe and opened his Bujinkan Seitaku Dojo. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Ninjutsu Practitioner Lee Relf: Bujinkan Ninjutsu
James Nakayama first started training judo at the age of seven. Years later, an uncle told him about aikido. He soon enrolled into Orange County Aiki Kai, and has not stopped practicing since. In the 1970s, he met Fumio Toyoda and was captivated by his style and approach. It was not until the 1990s, after … Continue reading Interview with Chushinkan Dojo Founder James Nakayama: Fumio Toyoda and His Legacy
Corky Quakenbush first saw aikido when he was learning how to fence and hoped to see the demonstration again the next week, but to no avail. He then saw the art again while in Los Angeles, where he was asked to participate and felt a powerful and painful nikyo, something that did not fully sit … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Aikidoka Corky Quakenbush: Intention, Performance, and Takemusu Aiki, Part II
Corky Quakenbush first saw aikido when he was learning how to fence and hoped to see the demonstration again the next week, but to no avail. He then saw the art again while in Los Angeles, where he was asked to participate and felt a powerful and painful nikyo, something that did not fully sit … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Aikidoka Corky Quakenbush: Intention, Performance, and Takemusu Aiki, Part I
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 