Instructors

Godan, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido
Joden, Shin Shin Toitsu Do
Associate Ki Lecturer, Shin Shin Aikido Kai
Assistant Examiner, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Kai

I discovered Aikido in the mid-60s through an article in Black Belt Magazine and a book entitled Zen Combat.  During the 60's, aikido was viewed as a mysterious martial art from Japan.  For a skinny high-school kid, the promise of power regardless of physical size and strength was captivating. Since there were no Aikido dojos in Texas at that time, I attempted to learn from books.  That did not go well.

In the mid-70s, I practiced at the University of Texas for a period of time.  Attending classes over the course of several months.  However, my practice was postponed when I started a family and left Austin for a new job.

In 1987, I returned to Austin, which opened the possibility of a consistent and sustainable practice. For almost four decades, I have trained and taught aikido at the Austin Ki-Aikido dojo. 

For me, the practice of aikido has become a framework for the ethical and equanimous engagement with the world’s pushes and pulls.

If you are interested in or have questions about the dojo or the practice of aikido, feel free to schedule a visit with us.

Sandan, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikdio
Shoden, Shin Shin Toitsu Do
Assistant Ki Lecturer, Shin Shin Aikido Kai

At the invitation of a friend, I had my first Aikido class after graduating high school in 1979 at the Karl Geiss Tomiki Aikido school in Houston. I had never been very physically competent as a teenager, but the structure and body physics focus of the Tomiki style opened a door of possibility for me. I earned my Shodan for Tomiki Aikido in the “189th day of 1981” according to the certificate.

I transferred from UofH to UT Austin in 1982 to finish and Engineering degree, and after graduation found a new Aikido home in 1986 at the Austin Ki Aikido Center, where I started again as a whitebelt and took on the role of “uchi-deshi” – a student with strong responsibilities in the operation of the dojo. This was my first exposure to a practice focused less on the physics of Aikido and more on mind-body coordination. I received my Shodan for Ki-Aikido in May of 1992. In the course of this training, the lead instructor of Austin Ki Aikido teacher departed the school in roughly 1988 and I worked with a few other senior students to keep the dojo going.

In 1994, a long period of wandering began, with a marriage and child and job relocation. I studied Mi Guk Kwan Tang Soo Do for a couple years with my daughter (ranking up to 5th Gup), and I returned to the dojo in the mid 2000s as a student/instructor earning my Nidan in 2006, followed by a period studying from whitebelt again in Iwama Aikido. I finally returned to the Austin Ki Aikido dojo mid-pandemic.

I have a strong interest in Japanese language and culture and have spent many months in Japan in the course of my professional, semiconductor industry related career, and a few personal trips. My focus in Aikido now is finding new expression of traditional Ki Aikido principles with a spirit of play and traditional practice to promote physical competence in a martial context.

Yondan, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikdio
Chuden, Shin Shin Toitsu Do
Associate Ki Lecturer, Shin Shin Aikido Kai
Assistant Examiner, Shin Shin Aikido Kai

One of the original students of the dojo when it was founded in 1983.  Kathey assumed the role of Senior Instructor when its founder, Michael Price returned to Colorado.  And for the next 25 years, she was the heartbeat and leader of the dojo.  

In the early 2000's, she was diagnosed with cancer.  While she was successful in putting the cancer into remission, she lost the use of her lower body because of the radiation treatment.  She retired from the practice and teaching of aikido in 2011.

Over the next decade, she pursued other movement practices and pursues and continued to be engaged in the life that she was given.  Then the  cancer reemerged in 2022 and she passed away in June, 2023.

Her death is a reminder of the fragility of relationships and the vulnerably of living.  In the face of that truth, her smile and courageous spirit reminds us of what is important.