Tag: O-Sensei

Interview with Chicago Aikikai’s Historian Dwight Sora: Culture, Archives, and Aikido, Part II

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

Combined with the recent move of Chicago Aikikai and a former student finding dojo boxes in his storage, Dwight Sora found a window into Chicago’s Aikido past. Some were archival footage of the school’s early days as Illinois Aikido Club with Koichi Tohei, others were newsletters and seminar posters of years and decades past. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Chicago Aikikai’s Historian Dwight Sora: Culture, Archives, and Aikido, Part II

Interview with Chicago Aikikai’s Historian Dwight Sora: Culture, Archives, and Aikido, Part I

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

Combined with the recent move of Chicago Aikikai and a former student finding dojo boxes in his storage, Dwight Sora found a window into Chicago’s Aikido past. Some were archival footage of the school’s early days as Illinois Aikido Club with Koichi Tohei, others were newsletters and seminar posters of years and decades past. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Chicago Aikikai’s Historian Dwight Sora: Culture, Archives, and Aikido, Part I

Interview with Coalition Founder Lynne Morrison: Her Experience with the Independent Coalition of USAF Women

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

With a background in dance and a love for movement, Lynne Morrison found herself drawn to Aikido when she saw it for the first time in 1972 with Yoshimitsu Yamada leading a class at the New York Aikikai. Immediately, she signed up and trained intensely when, in 1978, she began teaching classes at New York … Continue reading Interview with Coalition Founder Lynne Morrison: Her Experience with the Independent Coalition of USAF Women

Omoto-Ryu Kami-Jutsu: Spirit/Divine Art by Michael Martin

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

Note: This work of Useful Fiction offers an alternative narration of a spiritual martial art created from Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu to physically express the spiritual concepts of Omoto-kyo through a fictional collaboration between Onisaburo Deguchi, Morihei Ueshiba, and Omoto-kyo students. In the early 20th century, martial arts were viewed primarily as practical tools for self-defense or … Continue reading Omoto-Ryu Kami-Jutsu: Spirit/Divine Art by Michael Martin

Interview with Dutch Aikidoka Natanja den Boeft: International Student of Shizuo Imaizumi

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

When a dancer discovers aikido, the meeting point of art and budo can lead to something profound. For Natanja den Boeft, that encounter began in a Freiburg, Germany dance studio in 1986, where ki training was introduced as part of her dance education. Completely intrigued, Boeft found herself training aikido and later learning from Shizuo … Continue reading Interview with Dutch Aikidoka Natanja den Boeft: International Student of Shizuo Imaizumi

Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part II

~ Antonio Aloia ~ 1 Comment

Prince Gharios began aikido in Brazil in 1986 and during the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he was forced to look to other sources for a more direct aikido. By the mid-1990s, Prince Gharios found Steven Seagal and Tenshin Aikido, which gave him the tools and foundations to establish his own Shinken-ryu Aiki-Budo. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part II

Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part I

~ Antonio Aloia ~ 1 Comment

Prince Gharios began aikido in Brazil in 1986 and during the rise of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he was forced to look to other sources for a more direct aikido. By the mid-1990s, Prince Gharios found Steven Seagal and Tenshin Aikido, which gave him the tools and foundations to establish his own Shinken-ryu Aiki-Budo. Today, … Continue reading Interview with Shinken-ryu Founder Prince Gharios: Attempting to Save Modern Aikido, Part I

By Example: Aiki in Real-Time Application from Judo Master Takahiko Ishikawa

~ Antonio Aloia ~ Leave a comment

When the concept of aiki arises within the aikido paradigm, many practitioners default to a variety of sources; pointing directly to the founder, Morihei Ueshiba, to different Daito-ryu forms and practitioners, or to the more internal energy-leaning teachings, like zazen, across the martial arts’ resource community. Aiki, by definition, “usually refers to the principle of … Continue reading By Example: Aiki in Real-Time Application from Judo Master Takahiko Ishikawa

Interview with Korinji Founder Meido Moore: Being the Uchi Deshi of Fumio Toyoda, Part II

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Meido Moore began aikido as a way to complement his Buddhist studies in college. After training at an Indian monastery and returning to New Jersey, he met Fumio Toyoda at a seminar. There, Moore was enamored with Toyoda’s approach to both aikido and Zen and found himself quickly moving to Chicago, Illinois to be Toyoda’s … Continue reading Interview with Korinji Founder Meido Moore: Being the Uchi Deshi of Fumio Toyoda, Part II

Interview with Aikido Authors Bob Noha and Laurin Herr: Robert Nadeau and the Art of Transformation, Part II

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Laurin Herr found himself training under Robert Nadeau after a company merger and spending time in Japan training under Michio Hikitsuchi in Shingu. Bob Noha, on the other hand, trained with Nadeau since he was a teenager. Herr, Noha, and four other students of Nadeau came together during the Covid Pandemic to co-author what is … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Authors Bob Noha and Laurin Herr: Robert Nadeau and the Art of Transformation, Part II