Our Sensei

Bill Hazen Sensei is a student of Shoji Nishio Shihan. Over the last twenty years he has studied in Denmark, Japan, and the United States. Like Nishio Sensei, our instructor emphasizes weapons in his practice of Aikido. He has a 4th Dan in Aikido and 3rd Dan in Aiki Toho Iaido. He started Wye Aikido Club over five years ago after returning from teaching English and training Aikido in Japan.

Shoji Nishio Shihan

Nishio Sensei's home dojo is in Japan.  He teaches a weeklong training in Denmark during Easter break and during the summer there is a weekend training in California each year.  His focus is on the correlation of empty-handed aikido, aikido techniques with jo and boken, and Aiki Toho Iaido.  A philosophical keystone is that one should always strive to help his attacker become a better person and not denigrate him.  Nishio Sensei was a student of O-Sensei.

O-Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido  

O-Sensei founded Aikido in the early 1940's as a master of other Japanese martial arts.  The development of aikido can be followed can be followed historically during prewar, WWII,  occupied Japan, and peacetime.  His recovery from serious illness was the impetus for Aikido's focus on the form of technique or waza being the strength instead of physical strength, or brawn. He welcomed women to train alongside men in his dojo which was not common in that era.  Aikido focuses on using an attacker's energy and redirecting it against them instead of kicks and punches.  It's emphasis is on motion and the physics of movement.  The philosophical foundation of aikido is that it is a martial way devoted to the development of harmony and peace.

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