Kayla Feder Shihan, 7th Dan
Bio
Kayla Feder Shihan, 7th dan, Aikikai, is the dojo cho at Aikido of Berkeley. In 1973 at the age of 9 Kayla Shihan fell in love with Aikido and has been dedicated to growing in the art and training continuously for 50 years. For the first 20 years of her practice, she was greatly inspired by training under Morihiro Saito Shihan, who was one of the founder’s closest students. In 1980 Kayla Shihan traveled to Iwama, Japan to train with Saito Shihan as an uchi deshi (live-in apprentice). During subsequent trips to study Aikido in Japan, she trained with a number of other Shihan who were close students to the founder, among many: Kisshomaru Ueshiba (O-Sensei’s son), Seiichi Sugano, Motomichi Anno, and Kazuo Chiba. Since childhood she has also practiced with and been strongly influenced by Frank Doran Shihan, Robert Nadeau Shihan, and Hiroshi Ikeda Shihan.
Kayla Shihan has taught seminars throughout the US, Europe, and Israel. In addition to her Aikido accomplishments she received a Master’s degree in Holistic Health Education from JFK University in 1998.
Kayla Shihan recognizes that we all have different bodies, histories, ages and learning styles. She is dedicated to making Aikido accessible for anyone who wants to train at Aikido of Berkeley. Her teaching style supports the individual growth of each student. She has created a warm and welcoming community at Aikido of Berkeley. Kayla Shihan also includes yoga and meditation practices as part of the training at Aikido of Berkeley. She views Aikido as a holistic art and has said: “There is no end to the growth and learning we aspire to through our Aikido practice both on and off the mat”. She continues to dedicate herself to the daily process of changing and growing within herself and her practice and teaching of Aikido.
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