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Gambell Sensei began his Aikido training in 1974
with Stan Pranin
Sensei in Monterey, California. He is a full-time Aikido instructor
and has been teaching for over 30 years. He currently holds
the rank of Roku Dan (6th Degree Black Belt) from
the Aikido
World Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Gambell Sensei has spent time both
in Japan and America training with direct students
of O'Sensei. He has traveled extensively, training
with senior practitioners of aikido from around the world.
In 1992 he was part of a delegation to China led by
Tetsutaka Sugawara Sensei which held aikido demonstrations
and workshops in Beijing and Shanghai.
During his 35 years of
training, he has trained in traditional Hombu style aikido and
Iwama style aikido. He has also studied many other
styles of aikido with senior aikido instructors. He
has synthesized these many approaches and offers his students
a clear understanding of the principles underlying all
aikido techniques.
Gambell Sensei believes strongly
in the principles of aikido training, not
only as a means of self-defense, but as a path to enhance
one's spiritual growth. He also expresses the source of
aikido - LOVE - through his commitment to his students
and his commitment to his practice. He has dedicated his
life to the teachings of loving-kindness, compassion
and harmony and to passing on O'Sensei's vision of peaceful
reconciliation.
Gambell Sensei encourages individual self-expression
of the art and has created a training atmosphere which exemplifies
the sense of community and love for which aikido
is known. His approach to aikido expresses a strong technical
understanding as well as a grounded connection with energy
and spirit.
As an innovator,
he has created several unique practices (e.g.
The 108 Aikido Meditation
Practice) which bring together various aspects
of aikido in a way which deepens and strengthens a student's
understanding of what it means to embody the forms, the
principles and the source of aikido.
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