aikido of notre dame de namur

born in 1973, charles vezinaw discovered aikido at san jose state training with sunny skys (4th dan) in 1996, and quickly enrolled at aikido of san jose where he trained with jack wada (6th dan) and became an uchi deshi of the dojo.  as an uchi-deshi, charles trained with kato hiroshi sensei (8th dan) in 1997 during one of kato sensei's initial visits to the bay area.  as uchi deshi, charles also had the opportunity to train with robert koga sensei (7th dan) of the koga institute focusing on practical aikido and police arrest and control techniques.

charles was awarded his shodan (1st degree black belt), nidan (2nd degree), and sandan (3rd degree) ranks by kato hiroshi shihan through aikido world headquarters located at hombu dojo in tokyo, japan. 

charles began studying kenpo karate at the age of 12 in the ed parker system.  he practiced shotokan karate while attending san jose state university training under isao wada (7th dan).  charles has also explored brazilian jiu-jitsu training with clovis silva (5th degree); muay thai kickboxing and boxing training with vajra granelli; judo; hsing i (yi); and tai chi.  charles discovered hatha yoga while attending san jose state and has incorporated yoga poses in his training and classes to increase flexibility and flow.

charles lives in san mateo, ca with his wife karen and son avi nolan.  charles is one of the three founder's and head instructor at aikido of notre dame de namur.  please see his founder bio in three friends.

                                                                                                                                  - charles n vezinaw, kato hiroshi sensei