Florida Sensei

Wow. A couple I had not ran across. One guy started martial arts training in 1985 and is already a soke of Aikido. Or should that be "soaky".

FWIW, below is a classic article on the origins of "SOKE." If our SOKE friends had read it, they might not be so enthusiastic to smear themselves with the title. The author is PhD in Japanese History and a long-time KORYU practitioner William Bodiford. His posts are excellent and concise. It's worthwhile doing a search on his name at www.e-budo.com as he's posted some very insightful stuff. (Karl Friday's posts are interesting, too. They also post on Iaido-L.)

Soke: Historical Incarnations of a Title and its Entitlements
http://www.koryu.com/library/wbodiford1.html

I hope you all "soke'd" up that article posted by Don.
It pretty much puts that "soke'd" topic out to dry

John,

Checked through the credentials and couldn't find anything confirming; many of the awards seem to be unrelated to organizations I consider respectable. Seems kinda funny.

Also, if you check out the rest of his site, lots of things don't seem to match up to a dojo environment (you should see the dojo tricycle). I'd have serious doubts at first blush with any of his titles, let alone his instructors.

All:
There was a great thread about dojo frauds that seems to relate. Read some of those comments, then check this thread again. I think you'll find some similarities in the threads...

Posts regarding the Klingon martial art have been relocated here:

http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7288

-- Jun

Regarding Sand Drift Aikikai:

When I last visited them in June at their Melbourne dojo, the members told me that you won't be able to reach them inTitusville any more because they lost their dojo location a year ago, and they were looking for another location. And they were also worried about losing their location on Melbourne Beach. I believe their Vero dojo is still open. Grady Lane (USAF) also teaches in Melbourne at the YMCA in the Suntree/ Viera area. He has some solid and very well-centered aikido, and he was a student of Don Walker's

Florida Aikikai in Ft. Lauderdale has been around for almost 25 years now. Peter Bernath has been the mainstay there during that time period.

You might check the Sand Drift people out with Aikido Association of America. At one time, they were members. I don't know their current status.

It always strikes me as funny that there are more masters and sokes in the US than in Japan, that stars and stripes gi is awesome! I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes!

Golden Dragon...sounds like my local chinese takeaway...
hmm...I could go for some chinese...

Tim Gerrard wrote: It always strikes me as funny that there are more masters and sokes in the US than in Japan, that stars and stripes gi is awesome! I'm still wiping the tears from my eyes! Golden Dragon...sounds like my local chinese takeaway... hmm...I could go for some chinese...

That could be because japan has better morals than us...but then again we're not selling used school girl panties out of vending machines.