Amos Lee Parker
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Amos Lee Parker (born December 12, 1936) is an American aikido teacher. He is ranked 8th dan in Yoshinkan Aikido.
Amos Lee Parker was born the 7th of 16 children in Houston, Texas. At age 18, he joined the United States Navy.
Amos Parker first came into contact with aikido in 1958 while a member of the US Navy onboard the USS Bradford (DD-545). Another member of the crew, Signalman Hill, was demonstrating techniques and Amos was shocked at how easily Hill was able control him and others.
In 1962, Amos Parker received his orders to Japan and was deployed to the Yokosuka Naval Base. The Monday after his arrival he found an aikido dojo on base that was under the direction of Yukio Noguchi, 7th dan Yoshinkan Aikido. His training with Noguchi only lasted a couple of months as the later accepted an invitation to teach aikido in Hawaii. Aikido classes were taken over by Kiyoyuki Terada, 9th dan. Amos Parker would spend the next 35 years training and teaching in Japan.
Amos Parker received his Shihan in 1986, making him the first non-Japanese instructor to receive such an honor. In 1995, he received the rank of hachidan (8th dan), making him the highest ranking non-Japanese Yoshinkan Aikido instructor in the world. Amos Parker is senior to many of the Japanese shihans and served as a presiding judge at several yearly enbutaikai’s (demonstrations)
Amos Parker currently resides in his home town of Houston, Texas. He travels several times during the year to teach clinics in London, Ontario, Indianapolis, IN and Sacramento, CA. He is has also been invited to other schools in California, Minnesota, Texas, Canada, Brazil and England. In 2005, along with members of the Seikeikan USA, he participated in a special demonstration in Oakland, CA for some 200+ kids at the East Oakland YMCA.
