Gregory Soon
Written by Matthew Hollstein
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I learned Aikido from two Senseis: Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan and Seiichi Sugano Shihan, both of whom were uchi-deshi of the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. In 1996 I was accepted as a live-in-disciple (Uchi-Deshi) by Yamada Sensei at his dojo, New York Aikikai. I moved in as a deshi on January 1, 1997. As an uchi-deshi at NYA I took an extensive amount of ukemi for both Shihans and I trained every day, 5-6 hours a day during the week, 2 hours a day on the weekends, and worked for the dojo as well. In 1998 I was hired by the dojo as Head-Uchi-Deshi and remained in that position until I left the dojo. After my Uchi-Deshi period at the Aikido dojo, I studied Judo and mixed-martial art grappling with Teimoc Johnston Ono (1976 Olympic Judo team member) and I continue training and learning independently. The Genesis of Soon Aiki as an Independent dojo was in 2002 when a friend and former uchi deshi from NYA, F. Onuma and I (we were both Yamada Sensei's uchi deshi and employed at his dojo) wanted to train in Aikido more consistently. I found a rental/training space at Chau's Martial Arts on West 26th Street (which later moved to West 27th and renamed to Fighthouse, an MMA gym) and we started doing our own independent Aikido training. In 2004 my friend opened his own dojo up in the Inwood neighborhood. I continued training on my own, attending classes in Wing Chun Kung Fu, and in my spare time giving private lessons in self-defense (not Aikido). In 2007 I decided to start up an Aikido club again. We started up Aikido training on December 14, 2007 (the anniversary of the birthday of the Founder of Aikido) and have been at Moving Body Resources on West 27th Street since.
~ Gregory Soon Links |
| Testimonials: -"Gregory is an excellent instructor, working with individuals of all ages and physical types with instruction tailored to each individual's abilities. His mastery of the craft is amazing and he successfully conveys his enthusiasm to his students."Top qualities: Expert, Good Value, Creative P. Hardy, New York, NY, November 23, 2009 (from LinkIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/soonaiki) -"I have always respected the philosophy of self-defense by turning an opponents negative energy against them. This is a useful concept in the struggles of daily life and I have always wanted to develop those skills.Since I began taking Greg Soon's Aikido classes, I feel I am on the right path. The skills that Greg can teach will be invaluable in developing a centered approach to life. To be able to fall down and get up again is not only a good workout in itself, but a good analog to life's challenges and living a productive life.I highly recommend Greg's class. He is an extremely knowledgeable and centered teacher that has allowed me to refine and test my abilities both physically and spiritually."L. Saffioti, Kew Gardens, NY -"Greg is a great martial arts teacher. I really enjoy training with him. He is patient, easygoing and has a good sense of humor; but he's also specific with his instruction and serious in his aims. Taking his classes has definitely been worth my time because he teaches practical techniques of self-defense, drawing from a variety of martial arts, focusing on techniques that will actually help a person defend themselves on the street rather than spending time on antiquated traditional styles. At the same time, he integrates this with a lightly held, but deeply felt, spiritual understanding of how to use energy and intention, which has helped me to discover that I am much more powerful than I had realized before."S. O'Conner, Inwood, NY |
