Following our seminar and promotional demonstrations this spring, Maruyama Sensei awarded Jim West 7th Dan in Aikido Yuishinkai. This reflects West Sensei’s more than 40 years of practice and teaching Aikido and his leadership in Aikido Yuishinkai. We are proud of his accomplishment and are grateful for his ongoing mentorship and guidance.
As background on 7th Dan, this is a high level rank in any martial art and obviously reflects decades of dedicated practice. This level of Dan rank in many traditional Japanese martial arts indicates that the person holding the rank is fully qualified to teach the deeper philosophical aspects of the martial art. In more modern times, this rank signifies that the person has taken on responsibility for training others and leading organizations over a lifetime of practice. For all of us who have had the honor of training under West Sensei, this is exactly what he has offered to us and to Aikido Olympia.