Aikijujutsu in Florida?

[Michael Morning]

Quick question:

Does anyone have any information about an Aikijujutsu school in Fort Lauderdale, FL? My wife and I are moving down there in just under one month (Dec. 1st) and happened to look up martial arts schools. All I have for the school is a phone number that came out of an online Yellow Pages listing.


Anyone know anything about this school, the instructor, etc.? Bear in mind that we would be new to studying Aikijujutsu, though we've been interested in it for some time (in addition to our ninpo training).

I'll be checking it out for myself once we've moved, but I thought I'd do a little checking in the meantime. All information greatly appreciated!

All the best,

-Michael A. Morning

[JimCarney6]

I am currently a student of hapkido but i like visting and seeing other styles and would like to expand my knowledge base. does anyone know of an aiki school or aikido school in the area that they might recommend for me to observe. any help would be greatly appreciated. thank you. jim carney

[Ian McDonald]

Jim,

Not sure just where you are located but do a check on the Aikiweb and other sites for dojo listings. There are some good folks in Ft. Lauderdale. Probably the best is Peter Bernath, 6th dan, one of Yamada Sensei's students, US Aikido Federation.
Florida Aikikai
730 N Federal Hwy; Ft Lauderdale FL
PO box 684, Dania, FL 33004
(954) 981-4828
Peter Bernath, 6th dan; Penny Bernath, 4th dan
E-mail: pbernath@safari.net
URL: http://www.floridaaikikai.com
(954) 981-4824
info@floridaaikikai.com

If you want Iwama style there is AIKIDO OF SOUTH FLORIDA
Stephanie B Yap
2028 Hollywood Blvd
East Bay, Hollywood, FL 33020
(954) 929-2656
aikidosf@aikidosouthflorida.com
www.aikidosouthflorida.com

Finally, there are several good dojo in the north Dade County and Miami area if that is more convenient. Please, please, please, visit several dojo before you make any decisions. Peter and Penny are good folks. Ms. Yap I do not know personally, but I was at a couple of seminars where she attended. She would not work out with me, but only with her own students. I was not impressed with either her techniques nor her attitude. She does, however, teach weapons, although she looked very stiff to me. There are some folks in the south Florida area to stay away from. Not to stereotype, but they are mostly macho type cubanos who I do not consider to hold legitimate ranks.

FWIW, I am not a member of the Aikido Federation, but they are the largest group in Florida. Don't know of any legitimate AJJ groups in the state.

Good luck.

[Quintin]

Dear Jim...If you are interested in aiki-jujutsu in Florida, maybe you can contact David Walter...I dont know how far it is between you two, but you can see his web-page at http://web.tampabay.rr.com/dwalter/takuma-kai/ OR you can find it via the LINKS on the Daitoryu Takumakai's web-page...I think you'll find the cross-training with Hapkido kind of similar, but definitely interesting and worth a look... Hope it helps...Quintin

[JimCarney6]

Thank you both for the information. i am going to check that out. i appreciate the help and guidance.
Jim Carney

[Ronin2004]

Hello I'm wondering if anyone knows of a school or instructor who teaches Aikijujutsu in South Florida. Thanks in advance to those who reply. :)

[Nathan Scott]

Ronin,

Please follow the rules that you agreed to when creating an account here, and sign your posts with your full, real name (or configure your signature file).

I've merged your thread with the exisiting thread on Florida. I know Florida is a big state, but orthodox AJJ is not that well spread, so I'd like to keep responses consolidated. In many cases, it is still necessary to travel somewhat to get authentic training.

Regards,

[rickfine]

I can highly recommend Juan Ribot in the Miami area. Juan just returned from two weeks of special training with Kondo Sensei at the Daito-ryu Shimbukan in Tokyo. You can contact him by phone at 786-293-8668.

[Kenshin Butsu]

I am a student of Sensei Ribot, and if you are looking for Daito Ryu, mainline, with a humble teacher that is highly skllfull, Sensei Ribot if more than qualified.

Gassho,

J. Alexander

[Mike Haftel]

I am spending the summer, maybe longer, in Venice, Florida. I was wondering if anybody knew any good schools in the area that would grant me mat time for a few months? I have some experience with Daito-Ryu, but nothing too comprehensive. I have been practicing a number of other arts for about 6 years.

Thanks!

[don]

I am spending the summer, maybe longer, in Venice, Florida. I was wondering if anybody knew any good schools in the area that would grant me mat time for a few months? I have some experience with Daito-Ryu, but nothing too comprehensive. I have been practicing a number of other arts for about 6 years.

Thanks!
This link wasn't working when I just tried it, but it may get back up.

http://www.yagyu-ryu.org/

The practitioner/teacher is David Walter. He knows both Yagyu-ryu and DR (Takumakai.) I've trained with him. He's solid.

Good luck.

[Mike Haftel]

This link wasn't working when I just tried it, but it may get back up.

http://www.yagyu-ryu.org/

The practitioner/teacher is David Walter. He knows both Yagyu-ryu and DR (Takumakai.) I've trained with him. He's solid.

Good luck.

Link is still down. But, thanks for the info.

[ozric100]

Hello.... I train with Walter Sensei

I am starting to do more and more DR.

Here is a link to a new site for us.

http://www.yamatoarts.com/

We do DR on Wednesday nights... but Walter Sensei is in Japan for the next
few weeks.

[gg200]

Hello Kenshin Butsu. I live in Miami and contacted Sensei Ribot about classes. Just found out he is leaving Miami in May and going to the Hawaiian Islands. May I ask you if anyone is going to keep the Daito-ryu study group running or it will close out now that Sensei Ribot is leaving. I would appreciate any information you could provide.

[drmarc]

Contact Josh Drachman at Aikido of Palm Beach County

He has a study group under the direction of Howard Popkin Sensei from Daito-ryu Roppokai.

Marc Abrams

[gg200]

Thank you, Sensei Abrams for your reply. I will contact Sensei Popkin and see what I can do regarding Daito-ryu classes. Hopefully, I will be able get involved in Daito-ryu. Thank you once again for the information.

[Jose Garrido]

Mr. Gonzalez,

I am glad to see that this forum was able to help you. I know Mr. Popkin and I was unaware that he had a group down there. Please enjoy your training.

Jose Garrido

[gg200]

Thank you, Sensei Garrido. I will contact Sensei Popkin and see if I can work something out. I live in Miami and Sensei Popkin is in West Palm Beach (around 1h30min from where I live). I appreciate the support and help. I am hopeful I can make some kind of arrangement to be able to attend classes.

[drmarc]

Sensei Popkin lives and teaches in Long Island, New York. One of his students has a QUIET study group going on. His name is Josh Drachman. Josh is a top-rate martial artist and a good friend. You cannot go wrong training under him.

Marc Abrams

[gg200]

Thank you, Sensei Abrams. I will contact Sensei Drachman to see what I can do to get involved with Daito-ryu. I thank you for your support and help.

[MJZ]

Hello everyone,

I will be a freshman at the University of South Florida this fall and would like to continue my martial arts training. My background is in "Dai Yoshin ryu Aikijujutsu" which we all know is a made up style by Juko kai. However, I've done considerable research and would love to take up Daito ryu. I have looked on the dojo finder and old forums and found only one person to teach Daito ryu in the Tampa bay area, but I cannot get in contact with him. His name is David Walker, and if anyone knows how to get in contact with him, I would really appreciate it. If there is any other study groups or people with prior experience in Daito ryu, please let me know. Also, I understand taking up Daito ryu or any other Koryu/Semi-Koryu art is a big commitment and I'm ready for the task.

Thank you for your time,
Michael Zeiters

[Devon Smith]

Michael,

If you're unable to find Daito-ryu instruction in that area, I can recommend a mainline Hakkoryu dojo in nearby Sarasota: http://kazoku-dojo.com/

Devon

[MJZ]

Thank you Devon, I'll look into it.

Also I found a dojo near by which claims to teach a Gendai Aikijujutsu system. The head Sensei says on his bio that he had Kodokai training under Goldberg Sensei. Can anyone verify this?

[Nathan Scott]

Hello,

Well, we'd need to know who the instructor is, and what the name of his art is.

Regards,

[MJZ]

The instructor's name is James R. Jones. He claims to be the Kancho of "Mushin No Shin Aikijujutsu Do" The website is http://www.fhmaa.com/Home_Page.php

Michael