Author: Christopher Li

About Christopher Li

Chris is an instructor at the Aikido Sangenkai, a non-profit Aikido group in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. He has been training in the traditional and modern Japanese martial arts since 1981, with more than twelve years of training while living in Japan.

Interview, Translation

Hidemine Jibiki – Hakko-ryu, Daito-ryu Aiki-Budo, and “The Road to Softness”, Part 2

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Hidemine Jibiki Demonstration

 Hidemine Jibiki Roshi Starting with Shotokan Karate Founder Gichin Funakoshi, Hidemine Jibiki (地曳秀峰) has a resume that is as varied as it is impressive. Born in 1927, his studies progressed from Okinawan Karate through Japanese Hakko-ryu Jujutsu and Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu to Chinese internal martial arts and more. This is the second part of an excerpt from an interview in Japanese with Hidemine Jibiki, in which … Continue reading Hidemine Jibiki – Hakko-ryu, Daito-ryu Aiki-Budo, and “The Road to Softness”, Part 2 »

Interview, Translation

Hidemine Jibiki – Hakko-ryu, Daito-ryu Aiki-Budo, and “The Road to Softness”, Part 1

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地曳秀峰

Hidemine Jibiki Hidemine Jibiki (地曳秀峰) started out as a student of Karate with Shotokan Karate Founder Gichin Funakoshi (船越義珍). From there he moved on to Hakko-ryu Jujutsu (八光流柔術) with the Founder of that art, Okuyama Ryuho (奥山龍峰), and then Daito-ryu Aiki Budo (大東流合気武道) with Tsunejiro Hosono (細野恒次郎) and Kotaro Yoshida (吉田幸太郎). He ended up in the Chinese internal martial arts as a student of Wang … Continue reading Hidemine Jibiki – Hakko-ryu, Daito-ryu Aiki-Budo, and “The Road to Softness”, Part 1 »

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Yoshimitsu Yamada, Part 2

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Yoshimitsu Yamada in Hawaii 2011

Yoshimitsu Yamada at Aikido Celebration Hawaii 2011 the 50th Anniversary of O-Sensei’s 1961 visit to Hawaii Pat Hendricks taking ukemi Yoshimitsu Yamada was sent to the United States in 1964 by the Aikikai in order to help spread and develop Aikido in America. He was followed by Mitsunari Kanai Sensei, Akira Tohei Sensei and Kazuo Chiba Sensei, whose cooperation eventually led to the formation of … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Yoshimitsu Yamada, Part 2 »

Interview, Translation

Interview with Aikido Shihan Yoshimitsu Yamada, Part 1

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Yoshimitsu Yamada Kauai

Yoshimitsu Yamada on Kauai, Hawaii in 1966 seated between Hawaii Aikikai instructors Yukiso Yamamoto and Sadao Yoshioka Yoshimitsu Yamada was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1938, entered Aikikai Hombu Dojo as an uchi-deshi in 1956 and was dispatched to New York to aid the development of Aikido in the United States in 1964, the year that I was born. I last saw him in 2011 … Continue reading Interview with Aikido Shihan Yoshimitsu Yamada, Part 1 »

Essay

Finding Aiki – and Aikido – in Hawaii

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1964 Aikido Hilo

  September 1964 Aikido Seminar at Andrews Gym in Hilo Hawaii Second Row: Meyer Goo, left, seated next to Sadao Yoshioka Front Row: Koichi Tohei, Yukiso Yamamoto, Gyokuei Matsuura, Yorio Wakatake Aikido arrived in Hawaii with Koichi Tohei in 1953, its first expansion to the United States after the war.  One of the students that Koichi Tohei attracted in his trips to the Hawaiian islands … Continue reading Finding Aiki – and Aikido – in Hawaii »