Take Musu Aiki

"You and I and everything in this universe exist as a part of the endless flow of God's love. Realizing this we recognize that all creation is bound together by the same benevolence.

To harmonize with life is to come into accord with that part of God which flows through all things.

To foster and protect all life is both our mission and our prayer,
and we call our path 'Take Musu Aiki'".

Morihei Ueshiba
Founder of Aikido

(Calligraphy created by Mitsugi Saotome Shihan,
presented to Linda Holiday Sensei and donated by her to UCSC Aikido in 1978)

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Aikido at UCSC has a long tradition since 1969, going back to the early years of the campus. Robert Frager Sensei, now at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP), and then professor for Psychology and Religious Studies at UCSC and UCB and former student of O'Sensei, started the UCSC Aikido program.

He invited Frank Doran Sensei (now Chief Instructor of Aikido of Redwood City and Aikido at Stanford) to co-teach the program, which at that point was one of only a few Aikido dojos in Northern California.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Other teachers contributing to early Aikido at UCSC included Stanley Pranin (current editor of the Aikido Journal, Tokyo), Greg Brodsky, Mary Heiny, and Jack Wada (head of Aikido of San Jose).

Linda Holiday was the Chief Instructor of UCSC Aikido classes and the Aikido Club from 1976 to 1982, after which time she founded (together with Glen Kimoto and others) the community dojo of North Bay Aikido (which became Aikido of Santa Cruz in the Spring of 2005).

Between 1982 and 1992, previous instructors included David Hurley, Jerry Paup, Ed Kasper, Don Monkerud, Jerilyn Munyon and Jamie Zimron. From 1992 to 2000 the Aikido Classes were taught by Martha Jordan. The current UCSC Aikido Instructor is Yoshi Shibata.

The annual Santa Cruz Aikido Summer Retreat takes place on the UCSC campus.

From the Official Course Catalog for Physical Education at UCSC:

43A. Martial Arts: Aikido (no credit). F,W,S Coeducational. A nonviolent, noncompetitive Japanese martial art emphasizing mind-body harmony, balance, relaxation, and the understanding of vital energy. Aikido self-defense techniques aim toward the creative resolution of conflict and the growth of the individual. Sections offered at beginning and experienced levels.

Click here to find the current UCSC Schedule of Classes. Join in anytime.

Contact Yoshi Shibata at the dojo for a pass to enter the East Field House.

Also, the UCSC Aikido Club, which is affiliated with Saotome Sensei's Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU) meets regularly at the UCSC dojo (please inquire at the East Field House about current training times.)