Patricia Hendricks

Patricia Hendricks is a 7th dan aikido teacher. Founder of Aikido of San Leandro She is also the head of division one (the Iwama division) of the California Aikido Association and is the first "menkyo kaiden" in Saito's system of aiki-ken and aiki-jo.[1] Patricia Hendricks as a 7th Dan, Shihan is one of the highest and most noted Aikido instructors in the world. She teaches internationally and runs a full time dojo in San Leandro, California. She has spent more than 7 years being uchideshi and living in dojos, primarily in Iwama, Japan under Morihiro Saito Sensei, a top student of the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. She is one of the closest students of Saito Sensei with numerous appearances in Saito Sensei books as well as magazines and uke on major demonstrations including the All Japan Demo held in Tokyo, Japan every year.

Her study of aikido began in 1974 through Mary Heiny with Stanley Pranin and later with William Witt. In 1976 she moved to Iwama, Japan, to study with Morihiro Saito Sensei. For the next 28 years, she returned to Japan over 25 times of which 7 years were as uchi-deshi. She continues to return to Japan.

She started studying Aikido in June 1974 while a student at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California. She had been interested in studying a martial art and found a course in Aikido being offered that semester. The instructor was Mary Heiny who was a Sandan at that time and had recently returned from studying in Japan. It was during that semester of study that she heard about Stan Pranin who was teaching Aikido to a small group of students in his garage in Monterey. She studied with Stan Pranin until 1976 at which time, she moved to Oakland to train at the Oakland Aikido Institute. Later that same year she moved to Iwama, Japan, where she became uchideshi and a student of Saito Sensei. She returned to Oakland in 1979 and continued studying at the same dojo. Over the next 28 years she returned regularly to Iwama for brief and long term periods of study with Saito Sensei. During this time she also earned her degree in Oriental Languages (with emphasis in Japanese) from U.C. Berkeley. In 1984 she founded the Aikido of San Leandro dojo. In 1988 she embarked on a 6 month European tour, combining travel and teaching, before once again returning to Iwama for study as a long-term uchi-deshi for another 18 months.

She presently is the Division 1 head of the CAA organization,[2] and is authorized by Saito Sensei to conduct weapons testing. She was the first to be awarded Menkyo Kaidan by Saito Morihiro Sensei.[3] At various times she traveled with Saito as his uke.[1]

She is one of the pioneering Aikidokas for women.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kimura, Ikuko (2002). "Interview with Pat Hendricks". Aikido Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ . California Aikido Association http://www.ai-ki-do.org/index.htm. Retrieved 15 January 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "Featured Dojo-cho, August 2001: Pat Hendricks, 7th Dan". California Aikido Association. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ Pranin, Stanley (1992), "California Women Instructors (1)", Aiki News 92, retrieved April 13, 2012

External links