An inclusive community for exploring the Japanese martial art of aikido
Chicago Aikikai was profiled on TV in a segment that aired during the 4:00 pm newshour on Chicago’s CBS Channel 2 on Monday, May 19.
The segment featured interviews with Chief Instructor and Dojo-cho Marsha Turner, and senior members/instructors Dwight Sora, Qin Coe and Rob Brose. All four took part in demonstrations of aikido onscreen, which also included member Christian Boswell.
The Genkikai Aikido Club at University of Chicago will hold a memorial class on Thursday, May 8 in honor of the late Don Levine Sensei (1931-2015). Levine Sensei began studying aikido in 1979 and served as head instructor of the University of Chicago Aikido Club (now closed) from the late 1980s. He was promoted to the rank of yondan (4th degree black belt) under Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU) in 2003. He passed away on April 4, 2015 after a long illness (click here for UChicago obituary).
During Levine Sensei’s leadership, the Aikido Club maintained an open atmosphere, welcoming students of all affiliations (including the Genkikai Aikido Club). It also had an ongoing relationship with regional ASU dojo. Chicago Aikikai’s Kevin Choate Sensei and Marsha Turner Sensei both guest instructed at the club, as did Inaka Dojo’s Wendy Whited Sensei and Kay Sandacz Sensei. When Hiroshi Ikeda Shihan came to town from Boulder Aikikai to teach an annual weekend seminar at Chicago Aikikai, he would arrive a day early and teach the Thursday night class on campus. Many members of the Aikido Club went on to become long-time students. Current Chicago Aikikai senior members Qin Coe, Tod Olson and Dwight Sora all trained under Levine Sensei, as did Kraig Rice at Aikido at Valhalla in Santa Barbara, CA.
For a time, the Aikido Club also hosted an annual seminar with Frank Doran Shihan of Aikido West in Redwood City, CA.
In addition to leading the Aikido Club, Levine Sensei also taught a for-credit course, Conflict Theory and Aikido, starting in 1986. The course combined training in aikido principles with studying texts addressing how to neutralize social conflicts (Levine Sensei was a professor of sociology). He was also founding president of Aiki Extensions Inc., a non-profit organization that networks and supports individuals involved with “off-the-mat” aikido applications.
The memorial class will be held at 7:00 pm at Henry Crown Field House, led by Kagan Arik Sensei of Genkikai Aikido Club, who will also provide an opening dedication to Levine Sensei. Any non-University of Chicago students or faculty interested in attending must contact Tod Olson (olson.tod@gmail.com) by Tuesday, May 6 in order to access the building.
10-year Memorial class for Don Levine Sensei
Thursday, May 8, 7:00 PM
Genkikai Aikido Club, University of Chicago
Henry Crown Field House
5550 S. University Ave
Suggested reading by or about Don Levine Sensei
Group offers new solution to Mid East peace process: Aikido (The Chicago Maroon, February 2004)
How One Aikido Sensei Changed My Life (and 17 of His Life Lessons) (Observer, January 2016)
Endpaper; The Liberal Arts and the Martial Arts by Don Levine (The New York Times, April 1985)
Chicago Aikikai’s Andrew Vitale (4th dan) taught a Friday night spotlight session at Aikido of Madison on April 25th.
Andrew Vitale together with Kerry Connell (5th dan), senior instructor at Aikido of Madison.
Sunday, May 25 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
At Chicago Aikikai, 1444 W. Chicago Ave.
Led by Dwight Sora and Qin Coe
In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, join us for a special event exploring leadership and resilience through the lens of Aikido, a Japanese martial art rooted in harmony, presence, and dynamic non-aggression.
Doors open 10:00 am. From 10:30- 11:30am, experience a dynamic introductory class led by instructors Dwight Sora (4th degree black belt) and Qin Coe (2nd degree blackbelt) at Chicago Aikikai – a hidden gem of Japanese cultural heritage in the city. All bodies and experience levels are welcome.
From 11:30 am – 12:30 pm, take part in a workshop conversation connecting Aikido principles to daily leadership and personal strength. We’ll reflect on the legacy of Asian American resilience and how these traditions can guide us through conflict, change, and challenge.
After class ends at 12:30 pm is time for sōji (dojo cleaning) and asking questions. In Japan, it is traditional for students to clean the dojo after class to show their thanks and respect. We ask all participants to join in cleaning, unless they have a pressing time commitment.
[If you navigated here from Chicago Asian Network, please note that the times have been modified since the original posting.]
Click here to register for free. Suggested donation $10 – 25 to our new building fund. Cash or check accepted, or donate online. Walk-ins also welcome.
Wear comfortable clothing. No experience necessary – just curiosity and an open heart.
Dwight Sora (空ドワイト) is a Chicago-based Japanese-English document translator and actor. He provided Japanese language spport for the Engineering Department of Yaskawa Electric America (YEA) in Buffalo Grove for five years before going freelance. As an actor, he has appeared onstage in Chicago with Filament Theatre, The Gift Theatre, Strawdog Theatre Company, Lifeline Theatre, Raven Theatre Chicago, and understudied for Token Theatre, Silk Road Cultural Center, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. He has also served as fight choreographer for Mercury Theatre Chicago, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Theatre-Hikes and was an onstage combatant for Lyric Opera Chicago.
Dwight has a B.A. from the Department of East Asian Lanuages & Civilizations at University of Chicago. He started studying Aikido in 1993 while on a foreign studies program at Waseda University in Tokyo, training with the university Aikido Club and at World Aikido Headquarters (Hombu Dojo). He is a fourth-generation Japanese American (by way of Hawaii) on his father’s side, and second-generation Korean American on his mother’s side.
Learn more about Dwight and his journey in aikido in the video “Homecoming -A Yonsei Man’s Journey To Heritage“
Qin Coe (郑琴) is a champion for her clients’ highest capacity. As an Executive and Leadership coach, she partners with executives, founders, and leaders from Fortune 100 companies, start-ups, to non-profit organizations. She has served in coaching and mentorship capacities for organizations such as South By Southwest, Dollar General, Motorola, Morningstar, and Chicago Innovation. She most recently held the role as the Head of Customer Success in a SaaS company, and has served clients in Finance and Technology in various capacities including customer success, sales, product management, and operations.
Qin holds a PhD of Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago. A solid C student in PE, she gained confidence training in Aikido starting 2002. She immigrated to the United States from China to pursue her graduate studies.
Learn more about Qin and how she applies aikido to her professional life in the video “What Did Aikido Teach Me About Power?”
If you are interested in learning more about Chicago Aikikai, check out “The Asian American Roots of Chicago Aikikai and Aikido in Chicago” or visit our YouTube channel to view “A History of Chicago Aikikai“.
Chicago Aikikai will be returning to give demos at the annual Ginza Holiday Japanese cultural festival at Midwest Buddhist Temple (MBT). Catch us onstage at 6:30 pm on Friday, August 8 and 3:30 pm on Saturday, August 9. And be sure to shop and sample some of the food.
Chicago Aikikai has given numerous aikido demonstrations over the years at the Ginza Holiday, an annual Japanese cultural festival and fundraiser hosted by the Midwest Buddhist Temple (MBT) in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. The temple started as the Midwest Buddhist Church in 1944 and began holding the festival in 1955. Chicago Aikikai began giving demonstrations not long after its founding in 1963 as Illinois Aikido Club.
On Sunday, April 13, regular morning class was cancelled at Chicago Aikikai to accommodate the filming of Blade of the Waning Kingdom, an independently produced feature-length martial arts movie being made in Chicago.
Aside from training, Sundays are usually pretty sedate around Chicago Aikikai and its surrounding neighborhood, and usually only get really busy during seminars. Today, however, it was buzzing with cast and crew, as parts of the dojo served as makeup and wardrobe rooms and multiple different locations.
Chicago Aikikai members were invited to participate or observe the production. Joe Guerrier and his daughter Dee came for a while in the morning to watch the production process. Dwight Sora served as liaison between the dojo and production and also assisted the fight choreographer. Rob Brose and Christian Boswell also performed fight choreography as featured extras in a training scene, and Christian later did double-duty as part of a ninja entourage.
All in all, the filmmakers had a lot of thanks and praise for Chicago Aikikai’s willingness to let them film in the dojo. Cast and crew were asked to attend the regular Sunday intro class one week prior to receive proper orientation in conduct and care of the space, and many expressed in signing up as regular or trial students.
Blade of the Waning Kingdom is a low-budget adventure film set in a mythic world inspired by classic Japanese and Chinese martial arts films. Once completed, the filmmakers hope to submit it to film festivals and make it available for streaming viewing.