Hiroshi Tada was born on December 13th, 1929 and is the only living 9th Dan Aikido Aikikai holder. He entered Hombu Dojo in 1950 and doing aikido now for 67 years! He was just always there, he knows them all, and seen it all happened and changed with his own eyes.
Patrick Cassidy
Patrick Cassidy is a 6th dan Aikikai Aikido instructor. He is a founder and a Dojo-Cho at Aikido Montreux in Switzerland.
About Sumo
Sumo has deep roots from the Shinto religion of Japan, has about 1500 years of history and is still practiced professionally only in Japan. Sumo today is considered as a Gendai Budo which literally means a modern Budo.
Dang Thong Phong
Dang Thong Phong was born in 1935. He started his Martial Arts career from Han Bai Duong (Vietnamese Shaolin Kung-Fu) and Judo. From 1958 he added Aikido and Taekwondo to the list of his favorite activities and he continues to follow his choices up, after almost 60 years.
Haruo Matsuoka
Haruo Matsuoka was Steven Seagal‘s most important student for more than 20 years. He followed Steven to the USA from Japan, participated in the movies, was a Chief Instructor in Steven Seagal’s Tenshin Dojo in Los Angeles for 8 years…
Hiroshi Ikeda
Hiroshi Ikeda holds a 7 Dan in Aikikai and is a Shihan based in the USA. He learned from the Misogi Saotome and is a founder of the Boulder Aikikai Dojo.
Interview with Hiroyuki Sakurai
An interview was taken on June 9, 2018, during a seminar with the Shihan at Chisinau, Moldova. Hiroyuki Sakurai held 6 Dan at the time. During the 2020 Kagamibiraki ceremony, Sensei received 7th Dan from the Aikikai.
Tsuruzo Miyamoto
Tsuruzo Miyamoto was born on March 30, 1953, on the island of Kyushu, Japan. He is an 8 Dan and one of the most respected Hombu Shihans at the moment.