11/01/2026
The promotions for 2026 of Hombu Dojo are out after today’s Kagami Biraki ceremony in Tokyo! I am truly humbled to have been promoted to 6th Dan in Aikido, a beautiful and incredibly deep (yet if sometimes controversial) martial art.
In my 27 years of continuous practice, I have had the luck to meet, train and learn from incredible teachers of the art, particularly Kanai sensei who gave me the honor to join his Dojo in New England Aikikai when I was a young student attending college in Cambridge, MA. He is one of the most kind, charismatic and influential teachers I have had. His teachings inspired me early on to cross-train and learn Judo and BJJ to strengthen the martial base of my Aikido. Also Donovan Waite sensei, who I met by joining his Dojo of Aikido of Center City in Philadelphia, PA. The power and smoothness of his technique are legendary and were truly inspiring in many ways, and especially influenced me in the way I took free falls and executed powerful technique.
I have also to thank other great teachers that left a mark on me and my practice, like Yamada sensei, Chiba sensei, Frank Noel sensei, Yoko Okamoto sensei, Christian Tissier sensei and Murashige sensei. I also want to mention my first teachers at university varsity sports in Germany, Jan Bietz and Angelo, as without them I would probably never have gotten the opportunity to get in contact with the art.
Yet, I feel particularly honored to have been directly promoted by my main teacher, Tsuruzo Miyamoto sensei, who I have known for more than 20 years.
I have been following him all around the world, having had the honor of taking ukemi for him in seminars and demonstrations in front of huge crowds, while trying to understand his teachings. He has had the biggest impact on how I understand Aikido and ukemi, particularly the connection between nage and uke. His conception of henka waza and how you have to adapt to every single change of the uke, is the closest my Aikido has been able to get to a “free flow”, like the one you get in BJJ and even in some combat/competition situations in boxing and Judo, where techniques and movements just develop without any premeditation.
Miyamoto sensei’s humble and honest personality have also allowed me to accept Aikido as a martial art without the need of the typical worshipping and undefeatable “god-like” attitude many high-grade teachers adopt and that, in my opinion, makes the art lose credibility.
Miyamoto sensei has also been key to creating bridges between Aikido factions that in other times semt very far apart and barely interacted between each other, like Sansuikai (Yamada sensei’s students), FFAAA (Tissier sensei’s students) and Birankai (Chiba sensei student’s).
I started to know the Birankai group only because of Miyamoto sensei, as he was invited by Chiba sensei to teach at his camps in England, the US West coast and many other places. This allowed me to discover the Birankai weapons system, which is a fascinating weapons school and an incredible complement to Miyamoto sensei’s Aikido teaching. I have made many friends in Birankai over the years who have taught me a lot and have allowed me to develop my knowledge in weapons and Iaido.
And this is where I end up thanking Mike Flynn sensei, a great and influential teacher I have had the honor of meeting . His deep knowledge of Aikido, weapons and Iaido, combined with the no-nonsense attitude only a retired Col. of the Marines can have, have taught me that finesse often lies in mastering the basics and shedding the innecessary to smoothen your technique. I have only but gratitude for his generosity, the incredible depth of his teachings and all the selfless support he has been giving me and our group in Barcelona over the years without expecting anythin in return.
I want also to congratulate many friends that have been walking this fascinating Aikido path with me over the last decades who have also been promoted this year, like Miguel Moreno, Ea Murphy, Francesc Castellanos, Xavier Serra, Carlos Lopez, Anne Slui, Kirill Ivanov and many others.
I hope to keep seeing you all of you on the mat keeping up the same intensity in practice!! ;)
