2025 KC Bridge Seminar
Join us for the 2025 Kansas City Bridge Seminar!
This seminar will take place at Aikijuku Dojo in Olathe, Kansas. The seminar will feature Hiroshi Ikeda Sensei from the Boulder Aikikai, Boulder Colorado USA. Ikeda Sensei is world famous and travels extensively conducting Aikido seminars within the USA and Europe as well as other parts of the world.
Larry Graham Sensei is a United States Aikido Federation (USAF) instructor who conveys the teachings of his instructor, Akira Tohei Sensei. Neil Segal Sensei trained under the guidance of Abe Seiseki Sensei and Kinoshita Ryoichi Sensei at Amenotakemusu Juku Aikido Dojo. The seminar will also feature several guest instructors. The schedule of classes will be posted once finalized. There will be a dinner celebration at Aikijuku Dojo at 7:30pm on Saturday June 28th.
Location/Training Schedule
The annual KC Bridge Seminar is held at Aikijuku Dojo in Olathe, Kansas. Filled with natural light and plenty of space to train, our new location is a peaceful and tranquil area for you to train. Come join in the training!
Instructors
Hiroshi Ikeda Shihan is founder and chief instructor of Boulder Aikikai. He began his study of aikido in 1968 at the Aikido club of Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, of which Saotome Sensei was the chief instructor. Upon graduation, he trained regularly at Honbu Dojo and at Saotome Sensei’s Remeijuki Dojo. In 1978 he followed Saotome Sensei to the U.S. and in 1980 established Boulder Aikikai. He is a frequent guest instructor at Aikido seminars in the U.S. and abroad.
Larry Graham Shihan is founder and chief instructor of Kansas City Aikido School. He began practicing Aikido in 1981. His current rank is Rokudan (6th Dan) and shidoin in the United States Aikido Federation. Graham Sensei continues to share the teachings of Akira Tohei Shihan.
Neil Segal Shihan opened Aikijuku Dojo in 2005 for the purpose of sharing Japanese culture with others in the Midwest. His undergraduate major was East Asian Studies with a focus on Japanese history, anthropology, and comparative literature. While studying at Sophia University in 1992, he was introduced to Aikido and entered the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in 1992-1993. He returned to Japan in 1994 and was accepted as a student of Abe Seiseki Shihan, under whose guidance he was conferred shodan (1st) through yondan (4th) ranks. Segal Sensei continued to train under Ryoichi Kinoshita Sensei, who conferred godan (5th) and rokudan (6th) ranks.
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Ichiro Ota began his Aikido training under Katsuyuki Shimamoto in 1994 in Osaka, Japan. In 2007, he relocated to the United States and met George Ledyard, and has continued his Aikido practice as his student ever since. Influential figures in his Aikido training include Hiroshi Ikeda, Ryoichi Kinoshita, William Gleason, and Kenji Ushiro (Ushiro Karate). He believes that Aikido is a form of spiritual discipline through martial principles, and that the essence of Aikido is to continually strive to be a better person, both on and off the mat.