Thread: Aiki Expo
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Old 05-08-2002, 07:41 AM   #16
George S. Ledyard
 
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Dojo: Aikido Eastside
Location: Bellevue, WA
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,670
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GI Joe?

Quote:
Originally posted by PeterR
What I want to know is who/what was the GI Joe.
If by GI Joe you meant the guys from the Surefire Institute they were Ken Good, James Williams, and some of their students. These guys do some of the finest combat training in the country. They specialize in applying the principles from classical aikijutsu, and now the Systema, to the modern combat environment.

They have developed a system of personal self defense based on the use of the tactical flashlight as a form of distraction technique which is quite amazing. I do law enforcement training and one of my officers attended a SWAT session on building clearing in low light conditions which he said was one of the best trainings he's ever done.

These guys have trained with Angier Sensei in Yanagi Ryu and with Mr. Vasiliyev and his teacher, Mr. Ryabko in the Systema plus countless other areas of focus. These guys train people who have to trust their lives to their training. They are very serious and highly skilled. Whether or not applied technique is ones own personal interest, these folks are every bit as deserving of respect as any of the other martial artists who were doing more traditional arts such as Ellis Amdur Sensei in Araki Ryu or Angier Sensei in Yanagi Ryu. Those are straight combat arts as well, they just wear the old costumes.

George S. Ledyard
Aikido Eastside
Bellevue, WA
Aikido Eastside
AikidoDvds.Com
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