Aikido: The Art of Transformation

About the Author

Teja Bell, 6th Dan
Teja began practicing Aikido in 1971 and has been studying with Robert Nadeau Sensei since 1979. He has also practiced with many of Osensei’s first-generation teachers, including Francis Takahashi, Morihiro Saito, Akira Tohei, Kazuo Chiba, Hiroshi Ikeda, Terry Dobson, Mitsugi Saotome, and Mitsunari Kanai Sensei. Teja’s relationship with Frank McGouirk Sensei of Aikido Ai spans over thirty-five years, integrating Aikido, Zen, Chinese internal arts, and healing arts. An ordained Rinzai-lineage Zen master/priest and lineage dharma teacher, Teja Bell Fudo Myoo Roshi is the 84th ancestor of this Zen tradition.

Laurin Herr, 6th Dan
Laurin began his Aikido training in 1971 as a student at Cornell University. Inspired by his first experience on the mat, he studied Japanese intensively, moved to Tokyo, and entered Aikido Hombu Dojo as an unranked white belt, earning his shodan there in 1976. He subsequently spent formative years affiliated with the Kumano Juku Dojo in Japan, training under Michio Hikitsuchi, Motomichi Anno, Motokazu Yanase, and Yasushi Tojima. Returning from Japan, he continued his practice with Terry Dobson and Ken Nisson at the Bond Street Dojo. After living in New York City, then Tokyo, then New York again, Laurin settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. He met Robert Nadeau in 1999 and has been training with him ever since. Herr was a senior instructor at City Aikido of San Francisco and is currently a senior instructor at Aikido of Mountain View. Off the mat, he is president of Pacific Interface Inc., an international consulting company based in Oakland, California.

Richard Moon, 6th Dan
Richard began his study of martial arts in 1969, training in Shotokan karate, Kenpo, and kung fu under various teachers. In 1971, he began his practice of Aikido under Robert Nadeau Sensei, a relationship that continues to this day. Richard was also a personal student of Bira Almeida, Mestre Acordeon of Brazilian Capoeira, practiced Cheng Hsin with world champion Peter Ralston, and trained in qigong with B.K. Frantzis. Richard was the founder and chief instructor at Aikido of Marin. He was also a cofounder and senior instructor at City Aikido of San Francisco for many years.

Bob Noha, 6th Dan
Bob began practicing Aikido in 1966 in Mountain View and shortly thereafter began training with Robert Nadeau Sensei, which started a lifelong friendship. Bob opened the first Aikido school in the Washington, D.C. area in 1970 and taught arrest/restraint tactics to U.S. Military Police at Andrews Air Force Base in 1974. Then, in 1975, he established the first Aikido school in Buffalo, New York. He founded Aikido of Petaluma in 1983 and continues to serve as its chief instructor. Bob traveled to Japan to further deepen his Aikido training in 1998, 1999, and 2006. In addition, he is also a devoted student and teacher of t’ai chi and has a background in several other martial arts.

Susan Spence, 3rd Dan
Susan has studied with Robert Nadeau since 1984 and has been an instructor at his schools in Mountain View and San Francisco. She currently works as a physical therapist and biofeedback specialist treating children and adults.

Elaine Yoder, 6th Dan
Elaine began her Aikido training with Robert Nadeau Sensei in 1977. She has continued training and teaching in the Bay Area ever since. She is currently president of the California Aikido Association (CAA). The focus of her Aikido teaching, as well as her profession as a Feldenkrais Practitioner, is to use movement to help humans live full and healthy lives.