I started my training in aikido in Hawaii in 1980—over thirty years ago—with the late Shinichi Suzuki sensei (9th dan, 2009) at Shunshinkan Maui Ki Aikido. Suzuki sensei trained under the late Koichi Tohei sensei and embraced his teachings. I was impressed by Suzuki sensei's sense of self-awareness and self-control, qualities that he felt were important in our daily life. He had such presence—a sense of calmness, mental focus, and effortless strength to which I aspired. And so began my journey into aikido. In college, I trained with the late Robert Aoyagi (7th dan) at Aikido of Honolulu Aikikai. With my military travels and medical training over the years, I have had the pleasure to train under several well-respected sensei across several states. I returned to Baltimore in 2005 under Charlie Page sensei and Chuck Weber sensei, where I finally tested for shodan after all these years. My current focus is on getting back to the roots of my training and ki development: ki breathing, ki exercises, self-awareness, mental focus, and mind-body movement—all of which are essential to our aikido training and our understanding as it applies to daily life. Tamura sensei once said, “In order to understand, we have to feel. If we cannot feel, we cannot understand.”
Teaching Schedule: Sundays 8:00–9:00 a.m. (ki development)