Koji Yoshida

Rank: 7th dan, SHIHAN Aikikai Takaoka

Koji Yoshida sensei was born in 1951 in Toyama prefecture. At 19, he moved to Tokyo to study with Shoji Nishio sensei and continued to be a direct student of Nishio sensei for over 34 years.
He holds the rank of 7th dan in each of the following arts: Aikido (shihan Aikikai Takaoka), Iaido (Toho Iaido), Iaido renshi (Muso Shinden-ryu), and Shodo (calligraphy).
In 2000 Nishio Sensei appointed him to conduct seminars in the U.S.A., France, Ukraine, and other European countries.
In 2005, he was invited to teach at the Aiki Expo in Los Angeles.

Yoshida sensei teaches the fundamental and core principles of Nishio sensei's aikido through empty-hand techniques which are also expressed with the bokken, jo, and sword. Nishio sensei had always told that in order to keep aikido from dying, we must continue to keep the art current through continued revisions and upgrades. Yoshida has done a masterful job of continuing to expand and refine aikido by developing more detailed ken tai ken, ken tai jo, and Toho Iaido that are much more literal to the empty-hand techniques. His revisions provide an easier path to allow students to see the important lessons and connections the weapons provide to understanding empty-hand techniques.