ATHENS KI-AIKIDO HEAD INSTRUCTOR
Stan Haehl has been training in Ki-Aikido since 1979, and has been teaching (Ki-Aikido and other topics) for more than 40 years, in both dojo and University contexts. Haehl currently holds:
- Ki Development rank of Jouden (Upper Level Transmission, 2010)
- Ki-Aikido rank of Rokudan (6th degree “black belt”, 2021)
- Certification as an Associate Ki Lecturer (Joko, 2006)
All ranks and certifications issued by Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai.
Additionally, he is currently appointed as a Qualified Associate Examiner (2023) for Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai (“Ki Society”, the international organization, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan). In Ki Society, the Examiner Qualification is a specific appointment for a limited term and must be renewed periodically. Haehl was first appointed as a Qualified Assistant Examiner in 2011, renewed at that level in 2015 and 2019.
Haehl holds an MFA in Theatre Arts (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and is also trained in massage/bodywork. He taught as a Theatre faculty member at Ohio University and three other Universities. Now “retired from gainful employment”, Haehl spends his time teaching and training in Ki-Aikido, supporting MKF and Ki Society, and spending time with his family.
OUR GUIDING SOURCE OF INSTRUCTION
As an autonomous Ki Society Registered Dojo, Athens Ki-Aikido operates under the direct instructional oversight of Shinichi Tohei Sensei, Chief Instructor and President (Kaichou) of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai. Shinichi Tohei Sensei is based at Ki Society HQ in Tokyo, Japan.
Shinichi Tohei Sensei is the son and inheritor of Koichi Tohei Sensei (1920-2011), the founder of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido and Ki no Kenkyukai, (the predecessor organization of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai). As such Shinichi Tohei Sensei has been a student of Koichi Tohei Sensei his entire life, and has also completed a rigorous special apprenticeship (Uchideshi) of several years to prepare him to assume the leadership of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai.
Since the 2024 retirement of Koichi Kashiwaya Sensei as Chief Instructor of Midland Ki Federation, Shinichi Tohei Sensei has appointed Tomonori Kobori Sensei as his special Instructional Representative for MKF. Kobori Sensei is a Sohonbu Shidoin (Senior Headquarters Instructor), and is Dojocho (Head Instructor) of Enshinkan Dojo, the dojo of Ki Society’s Tokyo HQ. Members of MKF Dojo receive regular instruction from Kobori Sensei via Zoom and in-person.
OUR FOUNDING CHIEF INSTRUCTOR
When Ki-Aikido classes started in Athens in 2008, we were part of the Midland Ki Federation (MKF) of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai. Our Chief Instructor, both of our dojo and the MKF, was Koichi Kashiwaya Sensei of Seattle, Washington. Kashiwaya Sensei founded MKF in Colorado in the 1980’s, uniting several Dojo under his Chief Instructor-ship. As of 2024, MKF consists of 22 registered dojo in 11 U.S. states and Ontario, Canada.
In 2024 Kashiwaya Sensei, after 53 years as a student and instructor for Ki Society, retired from his teaching and administrative positions. He is now enjoying his retired life in rural Washington State.
MKF reformulated as a Federation without a “Chief Instructor”, consisting of autonomous-yet-affiliated Ki Society registered dojo operating under the direct oversight of Shinichi Tohei Sensei and Ki Society
HQ in Japan.
It was a great privilege for Athens Ki-Aikido and the other MKF dojo to receive the close attention and instruction of such a highly qualified and talented Chief Instructor for so many years.
ABOUT KASHIWAYA SENSEI
Kashiwaya Sensei became a direct personal student of Koichi Tohei Sensei (who was then the Chief Instructor of the Aikikai organization), while Kashiwaya was still a university student in Japan. When K. Tohei Sensei founded the Ki no Kenkyukai to teach Ki Principles, and later founded the Shinshin Toitsu style of Aikido, Kashiwaya was among the first students of the new organizations. Kashiwaya studied with Tohei Sensei for several years, including a two-year period as an Uchideshi (professional apprenticeship). It was at Tohei Sensei’s request and direction that Kashiwaya Sensei moved to the US and made his career teaching Ki-Aikido, supervising dojo, and training instructors. On behalf of Ki Society HQ, Kashiwaya Sensei also taught students and instructors in Brazil, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and other countries.
At the time of his retirement Kashiwaya Sensei held:
- Okuden Ki Development rank (“Inside transmission” – the penultimate level)
- Hachidan (8th Degree “black belt” in Ki-Aikido (at the time, the youngest person elevated to this rank).
- Full Ki Lecturer Certification
Kashiwaya retains these accomplishment ranks and certification. At retirement, he also held appointments as a Sohonbu Shidoin (Headquarters Representative level Instructor); an International Taigi Judge; and was a Qualified Special Examiner. These organizational positions are now moot.
DOJO HISTORY
Athens Ohio Ki-Aikido is a Registered Dojo branch of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai (Ki Society International, Tokyo, Japan). We are legally and operationally autonomous, an Ohio Not-for-Profit Corporation with 501(c)(3) status, but follow the criteria and teaching of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai.
Athens Ki-Aikido started as a class offering in the Athens Parks and Recreation department in 2008 and was formally incorporated as an Ohio not-for-profit in 2012, at the same time moving into our own dedicated space in the ACEnet campus. From the beginning the dojo was, and remains, a Member Dojo of the Midland Ki Federation, a national-level organizational Branch of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai (Ki Society International), consisting of several operationally independent but affiliated Ki Society Dojo and affiliated satellite groups across the USA, and in Ontario Canada. In 2019 Athens Ki-Aikido became an officially Registered Dojo of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai. Prior to this we were a Ki-Society Satellite Dojo under MKF.