Our Instructors

Andrew D’Angelo Sensei began studying Aikido at the age of 12. He is currently ranked at 5th Dan, (5th degree black belt) with the Aikikai Hombu Dojo in Japan. He has studied closely with many of the great Aikido teachers from the United States, France, and Japan. Andrew began training in 1997 with Edward Haupt Sensei at Zenshinkan Dojo in Worcester, MA under the guidance of Fumio Toyoda Shihan. There, he was submerged into a culture of not only Budo (traditional Japanese martial arts), but also Zen meditation. Discipline, respect, sincerity, commitment to ones community, and how to be a student were lessons instilled in him at a young age. It was there that his passion for Aikido began, and a genuine desire for self inquiry was sparked. After moving to New York City at age 18, he began practicing at the New York Aikikai under the tutelage of Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan, Seiichi Sugano Shihan, and Donovan Waite Shihan. His invaluable experience at NYA was formative, as it broadened his understanding of Aikido technique with the dojo’s expansive variety of teachers and training styles at that time. Alongside his practice in New York, he began traveling abroad in 2008 to study with Christian Tissier Shihan of France, of whom he has become a close student. Tissier Shihan’s renowned pedagogy has taken its place as the central focus in Andrew’s work as an Aikido instructor. Andrew is also an avid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, with some cross training experience in Judo and kick boxing.