KEN OTA – MASTERING AIKIDO VOL.02 | Digital Download

Teacher

Chairman

Description

Aikido Level 2

Includes fundamental techniques and evasive tactics of aikido.
Approx. 45 min.

This series includes all 1st Degree Black Belt requirements. Ken Ota originally practiced the fighting arts, sumo and judo, which he regularly participated in from the time he was placed in the Japanese internment camps of World War II. It wasn’t until 1963, during his regular trips to Los Angeles for dance classes, that he came across the art of Aikido. The entire Ota family enrolled in Isao Takahashi’s classes. The Ota then went on to train in Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido with Koichi Tohei.

The Ota built their own “cultural school” next to their Goleta house, which could easily be turned into a dojo when equipped with removable tatami mats; the main wall adorns a traditional Japanese shomen, which includes pictures of Morihei Ueshiba, Koichi Tohei and a large Ki symbol painted by Tohei himself.

The Ota offered classes for children and adults in Judo and Aikido, and also consulted with local authorities. Ken was hired to teach martial arts at UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he became an advisor to several clubs, including a women’s judo team.