Event Details

• location: 1728 62nd St Berkeley

  • parking lot available

• day + time: Wednesday, 12/11, 6:30-8 PM

• mat fee: sliding scale, $20-40

• covid-19:

  • proof of a PCR (within 3 days) or two at-home rapid tests (dated 12/8 and 12/11) will be required at the door — thank you for helping to keep our community safe

  • we may require participants to wear (K)N95 masks and will provide them if so

• pre-registration is required: space is limited to 10 participants. Once full, additional registrants will be added to a wait list.

About the instructor

Charles Colten Sensei, 5th Dan and Founder and Director of Aikido in the Schools, is a direct student (deshi) to Endo Shihan and has also been greatly influenced by other mentors including Jan Nevelius Sensei, Jorma Lyly Sensei, Seigo Okamoto Sensei, and Mary Heiny Sensei. As an eternal student who is deeply informed by the living world, Colten Sensei considers the study, practice, and sharing of Aikido as “his lens, his window, his mirror, his medicine…and an endless wellspring of knowledge, wisdom, and joy.”

Colten Sensei has given Aikido seminars in the USA, Canada, and Latin America. As founder of the Confluence Institute, he has also brought Aikido principles and practices into the fields of Conflict Resolution, Stress Management, and Leadership Coaching; providing trainings for Judges, School Administrators, Teachers, Healers, Consultants, and Business Professionals. For more, visit www.circle123.org.

Colten Sensei may also be credited with supporting Oakland Aikido founders, Evie Lynch and César San Miguel, in many ways over the last 10+ years, including introducing them to their primary teacher, Jan Nevelius Shihan. We are eternally grateful and thrilled to host him at our dojo for what we hope is the first of many occasions.

Charles Sensei is also teaching at:

• Mattole Valley Aikido, Friday 12/6 - Sunday 12/8

• Aikido of Santa Cruz on Tuesday, 12/10 5:30-7; and 

• Aikido of Berkeley on Thursday, 12/12, 6:30-8 PM.

about the instructor

Lia Suzuki Sensei began training Aikido in 1982. In addition to her primary teacher, Takeda Yoshinobu Shihan, her main influences are William Gleason Sensei and Seigo Yamaguchi Sensei.

Suzuki Sensei’s teaching emphasizes connection with uke, using the point of contact as a fulcrum. She prioritizes sincerity of ukemi and a commitment to maintaining shoshin (“beginner’s mind”). Suzuki Sensei also has a strong interest in how Aikido can be used as a means of empowerment and self-development.

Suzuki Sensei is the National Director and Founder of Aikido Kenkyukai International USA and the author of the book, The Teacher.

event details

• location: Oakland Aikido, 3527 Grand Ave, rear (subject to change)

• day + time: Thursday, 10/31, 6-8 PM

• mat fee: $40

• covid-19: proof of a negative PCR (within 3 days) or two RAT (dated 10/28 and 10/31) will be required at the door — thank you for helping to keep our community safe

• pre-registration is required: space is limited to 10 participants. Once full, additional registrants will be added to a waitlist. If there’s enough interest we may rent a larger space.

Please email us with any questions — oaklandaikido+seminars@gmail.com

Suzuki Sensei will also co-teach a weekend seminar at Aikido of Berkeley alongside Kayla Feder Sensei and Kimberly Richardson Sensei, November 1-3 — more details

space is very limited- if you’d like to attend, please send us an email

Kamilla Lundhaug (3rd dan Aikikai) has trained Aikido since 2000, and taught classes for 15 years. She is an instructor at Sentrum Aikido in Oslo, Norway, and her teaching focuses on clear technique and contact-based Aikido. Kamilla's training is influenced by Endo Shihan and she studies regularly with Nevelius Shihan and Lyly Shihan.

Antony Pinchbeck (5th Dan Aikikai) started Aikido in 1982 and for the past 25 years he has studied primarily under Endo Shihan and some of his senior European students: Nevelius Shihan, Lyly Shihan, and Mouliko Halén Sensei. As an instructor, Antony emphasizes clear, relaxed movement, body alignment, and the role of uke. Antony is the senior instructor at Kamo Aikido in Ayelsbury, England.