HEAD INSTRUCTOR LINEAGE
John Carter, Renshi
It's an honor to trace my martial arts lineage all the way back to Sokaku Takeda, Morihei Ueshiba, and Jigora Kano through the great Kenji Tomiki (one of my martial art heroes!)
"When one's life is endangered by an enemy, one daringly fights against him. This is due to man's impulse to self-defense, and herein originates the art of fighting. If, however, the art of fighting is misused in everyday life, it will cause the destruction of human lives and bring about disorder in community life".
- Kenji Tomiki, *8th Dan Judo, 8th Dan Aikido
SHODO MORITA
Soke (Founder)
Founded by Master Shodo Morita in Hokkaido, Japan. Morita was a student of Sokaku Takeda and Yoshida Kotaro in Daito Ryu Aiki Ju-Jutsu. Additionally, Master Morita trained in other methods of self-defense, such as Aikido, Karate, Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu. He combined techniques from each style to form a practical, well-rounded and efficient martial art. He called it Nihon Goshin Aikido.
RICHARD BOWE
Shihan (Teacher of Teachers)
Shihan Richard Bowe introduced the art of Nihon Goshin Aikido to the United States. During his military career he was stationed in Hokkaido, Japan where he reviewed a variety of martial art systems and was ultimately accepted as a student of Master Shodo Morita. Upon completing his training with Master Morita, he was awarded the rank of Black-Belt and later returned to the United States. In 1963 he established the first Nihon Goshin Aikido dojo in the United States.
STEVEN WEBER
John Carter
Trained by Richard Bowe at the Headquarters Academy in New Jersey, Steven Weber ultimately moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina where he established the first Nihon Goshin Aikido dojo in the Southeast. Our Head Instructor, John Carter, enrolled there in 1986 and after graduating college, established Carter's Academy of Self-Defense in Columbia, South Carolina in 1997.