Kayla Feder Sensei

Kayla Feder Sensei began her Aikido training in 1973 at the age of 9 and has trained continuously for 37 years. She is the chief instructor at Aikido of Berkeley and studied directly under Morihiro Saito Sensei in Iwama, Japan. Feder Sensei has also trained with and been strongly influenced by Doran Shihan, Nadeau Shihan, Saotome Shihan, and Ikeda Shihan. She received the rank of 6th Dan in 2004. Kayla Feder Sensei has taught seminars throughout the US, Europe, and Israel. In addition to her Aikido accomplishments she received a Masters degree in Holistic Health Education from JFK University in 1998.

Feder Sensei's teaching style supports the individual growth of each student. She especially enjoys teaching kaishi waza, ukemi and weapons. Feder Sensei also includes yoga and meditation practices as part of the curriculum at Aikido of Berkeley.

In 2002, Kayla Feder Sensei was invited to demonstrate at the Aiki Expo. Click on the image to the right to see a video of her demonstration.

Aikido demonstrations often focus on demonstration of basic techniques and the flowing nature of Aikido. For individuals who have not seen this before, the movement can look beautiful as well as intimidating. Demonstrations are very different from classes in that all participants spent several years practicing to be able to demonstrate at this level. Notice that her partners are enjoying themselves!

You can download this video by clicking here.

On March 3, 2007, Kayla Feder Sensei recorded this interview to demonstrate some of her thoughts about Aikido as a martial art, way of movement, and personal practice.

Women's Self Defense Seminar Demo

• Kayla Feder Sensei (up first, with short, curly hair)
• Patricia Hendricks Sensei (woman with long pony tail)
• Louis Jumonville Sensei (man with long pony tail)
• Eric Winters Sensei (man with short blonde hair)
• Jeff Bond (man with short black hair)

This video requires Window Media Player and is ~9MB and can also be downloaded here.