Today we’d like to introduce you to David Ito.
David, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Our Aikido school was established in 1974 by Rev. Kensho Furuya who was an ordained Zen priest and a 6th-degree black belt in Aikido and Iaido (Japanese swordsmanship). Our school is directly affiliated with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba’s school in Japan. We were in Little Tokyo from 1984 t0 2007 but were forced out when the area gentrified. Rev. Furuya passed away in 2007 on the same day we broke ground on the school that we are currently in. I have been the teacher since that time and juggle my acupuncture clinic in Thousand Oaks and my Aikido school in Downtown LA.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, it has not been a smooth road between being forced out and re-establishing the school today. Before the area was gentrified, we had to deal with homeless people and prostitution and now that area is hip and happening which would have been nice for our business. The worst part of the last 13 years after the teacher passed away was trying to uphold his traditional values in this new modern world based around the internet.
Please tell us about Aikido Center of Los Angeles.
We are a traditional Aikido martial arts school that has been in business since 1974. We are a professional level Aikido school that specializes in traditional Aikido and Iaido training. We are also the only Aikido school in Los Angeles that is directly affiliated with the Aikido World Headquarters in Japan.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Hard to say, things unfold as they should so the lessons learned are the lessons that we/I need to learn.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1211 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
- Website: aikidocenterla.com
- Phone: 323-225-1424
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: aikidocenterla
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aikidocenterla
- Twitter: aikidocenterla
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aikido-center-of-los-angeles-los-angeles
Image Credit:
David Ito
Rev. Kensho Furuya
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