Links of Interest

Below are a number of teachers and organizations I recommend for people interested in learning traditional Chinese and Japanese martial arts:

• Yin Cheng Gong Fa. The website of Zhang Yun, disciple of the late Grandmaster Wang Peisheng. Zhang Yun and his students are an excellent source for instruction on the Chinese Internal Martial Arts.

• Academic Training Traditions. The website of Paul Cote, who teaches YCGF arts in western Maryland. Paul is a long time student of Robert Smith and Zhang Yun and an excellent source for instruction in the internal arts.

• Sugawara Budo. The website of Sugawara Tetsutaka and Xing Yan Ling, featuring Aikido, Taiji, and Katori Shinto-ryu. The Washington DC study group is based at Capital Aikikai in Silver Spring.

• Edgework. The website of Ellis Amdur; a martial artist and psychologist and writer (and extremely genuine and ethical person) who lives and works in Seattle, WA. Not strictly a martial arts website, but you can find links to some of his essays and books. Ellis teaches Araki-ryu Torite-kogusoku and Toda-ha Buko-ryu and has students in several geographic locations. People considering learning classical Japanese martial arts would do well to seek them out.

• Itten Dojo. A dojo teaching aikido and iaido in Enola, PA. Run by Bob Wolfe, a student of Ellis Amdur, who is continuing to help develop Itten Dojo's aikido curriculum. A very beautiful training space filled with very competent martial artists.

• Aikido of Northern Virginia. An ASU affiliated aikido dojo in Arlington, VA, which often hosts seminars from advanced practitioners of martial arts devoted to the study of aiki.

• Modern Neijia Arts Institute. MNAI is a Su Dongchen Essence of Evolution study group led by Stuart Finkelstein in Minneapolis, MN where my friends David and Troy train. They focus on combative applications of internal martial arts. While not training in EOE, Troy and David often spend time at Troy's house analyzing entries into, and counters of, jujutsu locking and throwing techniques. Their practice space is quite small -- Troy has named it "The Micro Dojo".

• The Yushinkan. The Yushinkan is a Daito-ryu Takumakai shibu (branch) in NYC which teaches a traditional form of aiki-jujutsu as passed down by students of Takuma Hisa, who trained under Takeda Sokaku and Ueshiba Morihei in Daito-ryu. It is a small and dedicated group worth investigating as a source of training in Daito-ryu if you are in the tri-state area.