Aikido in Okinawa?

[Jody Holeton]

Hi all,

I'm trying to find a reputable, American friendly aikido school in Okinawa (Torii Station).

Any suggestions?

[P Goldsbury]

Hi all,

I'm trying to find a reputable, American friendly aikido school in Okinawa (Torii Station).

Any suggestions?

Hello Jody,

O hisashiburi desu.

I have checked on the Aikikai website and there are several dojos in Okinawa, all except one run by the same teacher, named Yamaguchi. The exception is by a teacher named Maekawa, who also appears to have practiced other arts besides aikido. The Aikikai website is www.aikikai.or.jp, but the dojos are listed only in the Japanese section of the website. Otherwise there is always Aikiweb dojo search.

Best wishes,

[Chris Li]

Hi all,

I'm trying to find a reputable, American friendly aikido school in Okinawa (Torii Station).

Any suggestions?

I get down to Okinawa every year, but I haven't been able to hook up with the Yamaguchi group that Peter mentioned.

OTOH, a couple of my guys trained with him years ago and recommend him highly.

Last time I tried to get there I emailed them in Japanese and they were very friendly (even though I couldn't make the schedules work) - if you don't speak Japanese then you might try Michael Veltri, who trained there for a number of years:

http://www.dcaikido.com/about-karate-school.html

Best,

Chris

[morpheus]

I had the opportunity to train with Yamaguchi sensei and his group while visiting Okinawa a couple of years ago. I visited their training session at the Budokan in Naha, spoke with one of the senior students, introduced myself and was asked to join in the training. I had the opportunity to train with them on a couple of occasions while I was there. I highly recommend visiting if you can. I had the opportunity to work kokyu dosa with Yamaguchi sensei. Good times!

Jeff

[morpheus]

Additionally, I did speak with Michael Veltri prior to visiting. He was extremely helpful. I was the only American in the classes. There were several students who spoke English and were very open to helping.

Jeff