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Nathan Scott
20th March 2011, 22:00
It is with great sadness that I report the passing of a senior instructor from the North American organization of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu Kodokai, Dan Panetta Sensei. He passed away on Monday, March 7th 2011, at the age of 58 yrs old.

Panetta Sensei was one of the founding members of Daito-ryu AJJ Kodokai here in the US back in 1974 when Yonezawa Katsumi first came from Japan to San Luis Obispo, California. Dan was one of a handful of members that started a Daito-ryu club at Cal Poly to continue the study with other members. In 1976 Dan moved to Japan for a year and studied Kodokai there, which resulted in him being one of only two people in America to have trained directly with Horikawa Kodo Meijin before he passed away in 1980. Panetta Sensei was one of the most senior surviving members of the Kodokai co-founders in America, and represented decades of unique experiences and skills.

On one hand he was a person with an imposing, physically large build, who generated a strong energy. On the other hand he was also an extremely kind, generous, and humble person, whom others would trust and wish to follow without hesitation. The fact that his name is so widely unknown in martial arts circles and on the internet is evidence of his great humility and singe-minded drive for self-improvement at the exclusion of publicity, recognition, or posturing (shugyo). His funeral was well attended, and it was clear from listening to the comments made by other co-founders of the American Kodokai how much they loved, appreciated, and respected him.

Panetta Sensei was also a professor at Cal Poly, and a student of Iaido.

More information can be found at the following link at Cal Poly:

http://www.arch.calpoly.edu/people/Dan%20Panetta%201952-2011.html

He will be remembered by many and missed greatly.