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
Zach Biesanz and Michael Shane both studied aikido and later sought instruction in battodo after repeatedly hearing aikido teachers say aikido movements “come from the sword.” Turns out, there's a lot more to cutting with a sword than mimicking the external movements. Biesanz, after training with Sang Kim, opened his Zentokan Dojo in 2016 with … Continue reading Interview with Longtime Battodo Practitioners Zach Biesanz and Michael Shane: Aikido, Battodo, and the United States, Part I
Even during its formation, Aikido has taken on many permutations and multiple interpretations. In brief, its origins are a mixture of physical movements, battlefield ideologies, cultural philosophies, and religious beliefs. More than 80 years after its coining, Aikido continues to take on many forms and interpretations. With the art now moving into a new era … Continue reading A Distinctive Dilemma: How Aikido Struggles to Find an Identity in the Modern World by Michael Aloia
This is a second installment in an ongoing series of "A Layman's Observations" where I discuss my observations on martial arts and combat sports. Read the prior installment here. At the start of this year, I began learning how to fence the Olympic way and the beginning of May that I had the opportunity to … Continue reading A Layman’s Observation: Fencing and Japanese Martial Arts Principles
Robert Dziubla entered the martial arts out of necessity, studying both aikido and karate as a teenager. In an effort to earn his black belt, he traveled to Japan in the early 1970s, training directly under Tomiki aikido founder Kenji Tomiki. Later, Tomiki tasked Dziubla with spreading Tomiki Aikido and the ensuing interview is his … Continue reading Interview with Tomiki Aikido of the Americas Cofounder Robert Dziubla: Tomiki Aikido on the International Stage, Part III
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 