Training Background

Aikidō

From 1989 to 2004, I trained at an Aikidō school in NYC that taught a synthesis of Aikidō and Nippon Shorinji Kempō. The group also claimed to be maintaining an old form of Shugendō but was not; despite that weakness, my study there planted the seed for me to later seek out more reputable instruction in both martial arts and eastern philosophy.

A lot of my early writing on Inner Dharma was concerned with the origins of the Aikidō I learned in NYC, relating to the broader Aikidō community after I began learning internal martial arts, and relating the concept of aiki with ideas found in internal traditions of practice.

Internal Martial Arts

I learned Gao Lineage Bagua from Bob Galeone, who was a senior Aikidō practitioner under Kanai and Saotome introduced to me by Ellis Amdur. His experience in evaluating Aikidō through the lens of Bagua principles was very helpful to me in my process of evaluating and adapting my goshin-jutsu (aiki-jujutsu and atemi-jutsu) into a more refined practice compatible with internal martial arts ideas. During this time I also practiced with students of Su Dongchen, whom Ellis had trained with in Japan.


Later Bob introduced me to Yin Cheng Gong Fa North America (YCGF), the Chinese internal martial arts organization led by Zhang Yun laoshi, a lineal disciple of the late Grandmaster Wang Peisheng. I began training under Paul Cote in 2005, before traveling regularly to Pittsburgh for additional instruction with Zhang Yun in Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan beginning in 2010:

  • Northern Wu Style Tàijí quán 太極拳 is a traditional form of taijiquan (tai chi) and places a strong emphasis on adhering to internal martial arts principles in its practice.
  • Hebei Xíngyì quán 形意拳 is a hard form of internal martial arts. Its practices includes trinity pile standing practice called santi shi, five elemental fists, twelve animal forms, five element ten step linking form, a mixed skills practice called za shi chui, as well as unarmed and weapons applications.
  • Yin Style Bāguà zhǎng 八卦掌 in the lineage of Ma Gui includes 64 circular palm changes and the goose quill saber 18 interceptions shibajie form. Cheng Style Bagua zhang includes the practices of eight mother palms and eight big palms, while Liu style Bagua zhang contains 64 linear methods and the bagua chunyang jiàn straight sword.

In 2015 I became a formal lineal student of Zhang Yun, with Paul Cote and Clayton Shiu as my sponsors. Wu Taijiquan, Hebei Xingyiquan, and Yin Baguazhang as taught in YCGF are now my primary martial arts practices.

Koryū

I have been fortunate to have learned portions of several classical Japanese martial traditions. Most relevant to the Gassankan and this website, I began training in an unofficial line of Kashima-shinden Jikishinkage-ryū at the Hōbyōkan dōjō of Dr. David Hall in 2008. The Hōbyōkan maintains a practice of Jikishinkage-ryū as taught as handed down to us in the line of Kawashima Takashi, Onishi Hidetaka, Namiki Yasushi and Ito Masayuki.


L to R: Onishi Hidetaka, Namiki Yasushi, Kawashima Takashi

I moved to Seattle in 2016 and in 2018 received a Hōbyōkan chuden menjo associated to this practice. I then worked with a small number of people to maintain my practice of Jikishinkage-ryū. I kept my teaching to the bare minimum required to maintain my practice, and did not try to grow a large group around the Gassankan. The pandemic made it difficult to travel back to DC and so over time my practice of Jikishinkage-ryū became somewhat independent and idiosyncratic, evolving to center around three themes:

  1. A practice of the kata of traditional Jiki Shinkage-ryū ( 直心影流 ).
  2. The analysis and deconstruction of kata in a process called kuzushi.
  3. A practice of pressure testing called tameshi-ai.

I diverge somewhat from how I was trained in that my katageiko is over time more and more directly informed by the cultivation of body mechanics and mental aspect driven by Chinese internal martial arts principles.


I no longer think in terms of practicing the 'true' or 'correct' (i.e., jiki) Shinkage-ryū. Instead, I try to use my sword practice as a vehicle to examine my mind.

Yoga, Taoism, & Buddhism

I practice vinyasa yoga as a complement to my study of martial arts, and incorporate Taoist and Buddhist ideas into my yoga practice. I attended a 200-hour teacher training at Midtown Yoga under Kim Manfredi in 2006 and then taught vinyasa yoga in Baltimore. I attended the Kalachakra empowerment for world peace held by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington, DC in 2011. I made pilgrimages to historical temples associated to Japanese Shugendō in 2005 and 2024. I now view my continued martial arts practice as a form of mindful austerity (shugyō) that can lead to awakening.