Greetings from Aikido Journal. As we near the end of Q1, 2024, I wanted to provide you with a short update on my recent thoughts and activities. First off, this month marks the seventh anniversary of the passing of Stanley Pranin, founder of Aikido Journal. Reflecting on his legacy, it’s clear his contributions have deeply influenced many of today’s great Aikido teachers, and the art of Aikido itself. I viewed Stan’s passing not only as the end of an era, but also a call for us to honor, protect, and advance the art of Aikido as we head into a new chapter in its history. Yamada Sensei’s passin ..read more

Jason Perna Sensei is Chief Instructor of Old City Aikido in Philadelphia, PA. He began practicing Aikido at the age of 17 and now brings over 30 years of practical experience to his daily training and teaching. His upbringing in traditional Iwama-Ryu, as well as many years of training in Aikikai Aikido, gives him a well-balanced approach to his understanding of the art and teaching methodology. He also practices the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu which he utilizes to better understand the connections across arts, and to maintain a grounded, practical approach. Jason is a full-time professional Ai ..read more

Why Should Martial Artists Throw Their Support Behind Budo Accelerator? by Ellis Amdur “Contributing to a program like Budo Accelerator becomes a crucial investment in the well-being and development of the next generation. As society grapples with profound changes, providing young people with an activity that goes beyond the individual and equips them with essential life skills becomes not just desirable but essential. Budo Accelerator stands as a beacon, offering a transformative path through martial arts that extends far beyond the dojo.” Read the full article on the Budo Accelerator website ..read more

​Hoa Newens has trained and taught Aikido since 1967 and currently teaches at the Aikido Institute Davis. Throughout the years, he studied with Dang Thong Phong, Seiichi Sugano, and the late Morihiro Saito. In addition to directing Aikido Institute Davis, he currently serves on the Rank Committee of Takemusu Aikido Association. He has also trained in Wu Tai Chi and Chi Kung since 1987. From these experiences, Newens puts forth his ideas on aikido, republished with permission from his Aikido Institute Davis Blog. Hoa Newens will be doing a live talk with Aiki Extensions this Friday. Find out mo ..read more

Leo Tamaki began training aikido under Nobuyoshi Tamura and traveled to Japan in 1998 to train at Aikikai Hombu. He returned to France in 2001, where he opened up a martial arts equipment business and began a martial arts blog. Tamaki returned to Japan in 2007, training there for an additional three years. He later moved back to France in 2010 and took to teaching aikido full-time. He currently heads Kishinkai International and has appeared recently with Jesse Enkamp on YouTube. This is the second part of a two part interview. Read the first part here. How would you describe your training and ..read more

Leo Tamaki Sensei began his aikido training under Nobuyoshi Tamura and moved to Japan in 1998 to train at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo. He returned to France in 2001, where he opened up a martial arts equipment business and began a martial arts blog. Tamaki returned to Japan in 2007, training there for three more years. He returned in 2010 and took to teaching aikido full-time. He currently heads Kishinkai International and has appeared earlier this year with Jesse Enkamp on YouTube. Josh Gold: Let’s start with some background on your study of the martial arts.  Leo Tamaki: My father is Japanes ..read more

The following is an excerpt from the newly released Aikido Pioneers: Postwar Era, which contains in person accounts and insights with many of the closest post-WWII students of the founder of aikido, including Shoji Nishio Sensei. Shoji Nishio was born in 1927 in Aomori, in northern Japan. In 1942, at the age of fifteen, during the Second World War, he moved to Tokyo and began working for the Ministry of Finance in Japan’s mint. At the same time, he started practicing judo in a nearby dojo. He went on to study karate before finding aikido at age twenty-five. While training at the Aikikai Hombu ..read more

The following is an excerpt from the newly released Aikido Pioneers: Postwar Era, which contains in person accounts and insights with many of the closest post-WWII students of the founder of aikido, including Mitsunari Kanai Sensei. Mitsunari Kanai was born in 1939 in Manchuria, where his father was a military policeman for the Manchurian railroad; the family returned to Japan at the end of World War II. After graduating from high school, he went to work for a typewriter company, but before long began to reflect seriously on what he really wanted to do with his life. Although he had studied ju ..read more

The following is an excerpt from the newly released Aikido Pioneers: Postwar Era, which contains in person accounts and insights with many of the closest post-WWII students of the founder of aikido, including T. K. Chiba Sensei. T. K. Chiba was born in 1940 in Tokyo, Japan. At fourteen years of age, he began studying judo; two years later he began studying Shotokan karate. In 1958, he discovered Aikido and began seven years of intensive live-in study as an uchideshi at Aikikai Hombu Dojo. By 1960, he had earned the rank of sandan (third-degree black belt) and was dispatched to the city of Nago ..read more

The following is an excerpt from the newly released Aikido Pioneers: Postwar Era, which contains in person accounts and insights with many of the closest post-WWII students of the founder of aikido, including Morihiro Saito Sensei. Morihiro Saito was born in 1928 in Ibaraki Prefecture. He began studying aikido in Iwama at the age of eighteen. He was able to train closely with Morihei Ueshiba in the postwar years thanks to his 24-hours-on, 24-hours-off schedule as a Japan National Railways employee. Saito Sensei became an Aikikai shihan in January 1959, and in 1969, after O-Sensei’s death, beca ..read more