Instructors

Dojocho (Grand Poobah and Chief Bottle Washer):

Jim Baker, Rokudan, is a mostly upright primate. He is less fast than a speeding bullet. He was raised by wolves on the vast tundra of Brooklyn. If conceit was constipation, he would have exploded long ago. He once made a fish blush. He donates regularly to the ego bank. He would bend over backwards for you, if he could bend over backwards. He can heal an awkward silence. His ancestral name is local slang for drunkard. No, really. His favorite color is clear. He invented cheese. His hakama folds itself. If he has a fault, it hasn’t appeared yet. (Excuse me. This is Jim's wife. He needs a smackdown after all this boasting. It's all lies. The only true part is that he is less fast than a speeding bullet. Oh, and he invented part of cheese, but only part. Dear? You outrank me by as far as I can tell six black belt ranks to the power of fourteen. Bend over. No, your head. SMACK! On behalf of all women everywhere, you needed that.)

Jim Baker is married.

Ok, Aikido bio.

Did seven years of Judo in his teens.

1974- started at the New York Aikikai

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1982- Shodan

1988- Nidan

1991- Sandan

1997- Yondan

2005- Godan

                                                                                 2013- Rokudan

Teaching rank of Shidoin.

All ranks awarded by Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan.

Instructors:

Steve Nelson, Sandan. who I asked three years ago to give me his bio, hasn’t done so yet. He is also married and has two children, so perhaps he can be excused.

Eric Pierce, Nidan