John Lepore first entered aikido in Pittsburgh for graduate school. When he returned to Philadelphia, he found Donovan Waite. From the first moment learning from him, Lepore had found his teacher. Today, Lepore took some time to talk about what made Waite stand out from other instructors, what impacted him the most from Waite, and … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Aikidoka John Lepore: The Impact of Donovan Waite
Amanda Ambrosio first studied Taekwondo. When she relocated for an internship in Oklahoma, she could not find any Taekwondo schools that she liked and found an aikido dojo that welcomed her. Over the years she learned from Jiyushinkai founder Chuck Clark and his son and current head, Aaron. Ambrosio has since moved to Washington State … Continue reading Interview with Bothell Aikido Founder Amanda Ambrosio: Jiyushinkai’s Uniqueness
Linda Hovan found herself in aikido with her husband, Michel, as he took her to many a seminar, both in New York and Pennsylvania. It was during one of these seminars that she met Donovan Waite and his teaching intrigued her and Michel, so much so that the couple traveled to Philadelphia regularly to train … Continue reading Interview with Granite State Aikido Club Instructor Linda Hovan: Meeting Donovan Waite
Darrell Bluhm found aikido and started learning the art in 1970 while in college. Very enamored with aikido, after graduating in 1973 he traveled to Japan where he trained from June through August primarily in Iwama with Morihiro Saito Sensei, with visits to Hombu Dojo and to Shingu with Michio Hikitsuchi Sensei. When he returned … Continue reading Interview with Siskiyou Aikikai Founder Darrell Bluhm: Aikido, Kazuo Chiba, and the Future, Part II
Coryl Crane was first introduced to aikido through Tai Chi, beginning her training with Ki Society. By 1981, she heard of Kazuo Chiba’s arrival in San Diego and decided to see what the commotion was all about. She never looked back afterwards. Ten years later, she opened her own dojo, North County Aikikai and has … Continue reading Interview with North County Aikikai Founder Coryl Crane: Kazuo Chiba and Changes in Aikido
Joe DeCapua’s introduction to aikido was in the mid-1970s, watching an old, black and white film of Morihei Ueshiba. It was not until he relocated to Maryland, near Washington, D.C., that he attended his first aikido class in 1982. The class was part of the Eastern Ki Society, one of the groups belonging to Shin … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Ki-Aikido Joe DeCapua: Ki-Aikido Curriculums
Eugene Morales walked into James Nakayama’s school because his family decided aikido was an activity they could do together. While his son stayed only for a year, Morales and his wife found something deeper in the art. In his training with Nakayama, Morales received a teaching methodology from Fumio Toyoda. While Morales did not train … Continue reading Interview with Pro-Sessions Aikido Founder Eugene Morales: Fumio Toyoda’s Teaching Methodology
Kagan Arik began learning Ki-Aikido while attending the University of Pennsylvania almost by accident. There, he trained under Hal Abramson Sensei, from whom he learned fundamentals. When he moved to Seattle, Washington, Arik started training with Koichi Kashiwaya Sensei and was exposed to different approaches that opened him to the different possibilities of Ki-Aikido. Arik … Continue reading Interview with University of Chicago Ki-Aikido Club Instructor Kağan Arık: The Similarities and Differences, Part I
Bruce Costa began training in Shotokan Karate under Teruyuki Okazaki in 1980 while at Temple University. What made him stay was the depth of content as represented by Okazaki himself, as opposed to what Costa had seen in popular culture. Since then, he opened Granite Forest Dojo in 2002 and has been a consistent and … Continue reading Interview with Granite Forest Dojo Founder Bruce Costa: The Impact of Karate Training, Part II
Marsha Turner began aikido in 1986 under Kevin Choate after experiencing ballet, gymnastics, and foil fencing. Her reasons for trying and for her continued stay changed and evolved over the course of her tenure in aikido. She currently heads Chicago Aikikai and took some time today to discuss her early years of training, the late … Continue reading Interview with Chicago Aikikai Chief Instructor Marsha Turner: Reminiscing About Aikido
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 