Takeda Sensei

As O'sensei's teacher, Takeda sensei passed on the family secrets of Daito Ryu Jujutsu to Morihei Ueshiba. Aikido's roots lie deeply intertwined with its Jujutsu past. Heaven & Earth is continuously exploring these roots and incorporate many Jujutsu techniques into our curriculum. Some may be too violent for today's practitioner but in the end all of the foundations of Aikido have evolved from Jujutsu techniques.

Morihei Ueshiba - O'sensei

Of course the father of Aikido has the biggest influence on Heaven & Earth Aikido. O'sensei was phenomenal in that he took the very deadly skills of Daito Ryu Jujutsu (the fighting techniques of the samurai) and used them to better mankind. Understanding that as humans we must evolve beyond the need to hurt each other, O'sensei turned the Martial Arts into a tool to be used in understanding ourselves. 

Kisshomaru Ueshiba

As O'sensei's son it was Kisshomaru Ueshiba who was instrumental in spreading Aikido throughout the globe. By opening up Aikido "The Martial Art of Peace" to every country and culture he has truly done more than his fair share to help mankind. As Aikidoist we must always thank and honor Kisshomaru Ueshiba for breaking the norms of the day (to keep Martial Arts secret) and trust us with his fathers gift. 

Gozo Shioda

The founder of Yoshinkan Aikido. As an early student of Aikido Shioda Sensei has been instrumental in passing on the harder aspects of O'sensei's teachings. Without the attention to detail by masters like Gozo Shioda Aikido has been able to maintain it's integrity as a Martial Art. At Heaven & Earth Aikido we look to Yoshinkan Aikido to keep our teachings in check with O'sensei's original techniques.

Morihito Saito

Saito Sensei was one of O'sensei's final students and took over the running of the Iwama Dojo after O'sensei's death. Morihito Saito has been essential to passing on the founder's teachings after world war II. He is a phenomenal educator and has spread Aikido to people all over the world. Saito sensei is also renowned for his weapons training within Aikido. Heaven & Earth looks to Saito sensei for understanding the influence that weapons has on Aikido training. 

Yasuo Kobayashi

Kobayashi Sensei was also an uchideshi of O'sensei. Kobayashi Sensei, along with his son Hiroaki Kobayashi run several Aikido Dojos in the Tokyo area and have affiliated dojos throughout the world. I had the opportunity to train with Hiroaki Sensei in 2005 and found the Aikido excellent and the training curriculums one of the best in the world. I was particularly impressed by the friendliness and approachability of everyone who was a part of the Kobayashi organization. I intend to train with Kobayashi Sensei more in the future and am sure they will continue to influence the Heaven & Earth Aikido. 

Steven Seagal

Though sometimes controversial within the Aikido world, Steven Seagal - "Take Sensei" has been instrumental in  making Aikido a viable Martial Art for today. Situations which we may find ourselves in today are quite different from pre-war Japan. Big city problems are as varied as the people who live in them and Steven Seagal has been instrumental in developing a style of Aikido suitable for today's practitioners.