I started training Aikido in December of 1980. Initially, my motivation for getting involved in a martial art was to alleviate the sense of intimidation I felt while walking down a 'questionable' street. Now, nearly 25 years later, I'm primarily motivated by what I'm calling the 'search for magic' in Aikido.
My first Aikido teacher was Robert 'Jen' Jensen in Bellingham, WA, who had received his Shodan from Hikitsuchi Sensei in Shingu. He was told by Hikitsuchi Sensei to teach when he returned to the United States.
I moved to Marin County in the Fall of 1981 and spent most of the next school year in a 'world study' College program in Mexico. When I returned I started training in Mill Valley at Aikido of Tamalpais with Senseis Richard Heckler, Wendy Palmer and George Leonard. During that 3.5 years I also attended many classes with Sensei Terry Dobson. At some point during that time I took my 5th and 4th Kyu tests.
In 1985 I moved to central San Rafael and began training at Aikido of Marin with Richard Moon Sensei. There I received my 3rd Kyu through San Dan rankings over a period of some 20+ years. These were obviously the formative years of my development in Aikido, with my primary influence being Sensei Richard Moon.
Those of you who have trained with Richard will know that his style of teaching is informal, that he has a focus on the philosophical, and that he is charismatic. Richard's emphasis is on bringing the spirit and essence of Aikido into our daily lives.
'Correct' and effective technical form was expected and demonstrated by Richard when preparing for tests, but Sensei Moon is known for his emphasis on free-form Giu Waza - any attack - any response. In this free-form interaction, Richard taught that the attention should be on the direction and energy of the attack and on your own state of energy, rather than focusing on the execution of technical form.
During this period my primary influences beyond Richard were Sensei Robert Nadeau, who was a guest instructor at most of our bi-annual seminars; Sensei Hiroshi Ikeda, whom I encountered at San Rafael Summer Camps and followed to retreats in Montana, Colorado, and California; and Sensei Hans Goto, whom I studied with for extended periods in advance of my Shodan and Nidan tests.
During a portion of 2003 and 2004, Moon Sensei, after 30+ years of teaching, took an extended sabbatical in Hawaii, during which time I and other senior students maintained the teaching schedule. When he returned, Moon Sensei asked me if I wanted to take over the dojo, as he had gotten clear that he was ready to move on to other pursuits. I accepted, and partnered with two of the senior students -- Jeff Kato and Joel Riggs.
Jeff, Joel and I share teaching duties on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Beginning Adult Classes are at 6:30 and Advanced adult classes are at 7:30. Children's classes are at 4:00 pm (7 - 9 yr olds) and 5:00pm (10 - 12 yr olds). We moved from our hourly rental to a permanent location in Fairfax's Fair Anselm Plaza in March of 2005.
Aikido of Marin has 10 - 15 dedicated adult students, roughly half black belts and half beginners, and an enthusiastic children's program of about 15 - 20 students led by Joel Riggs. The dojo has a solid foundation and our intent is to grow it steadily.
Please visit our web site at www.Aikidoofmarin.com and come train with us when you are in the area.

My most Memorable Aikido Experience
Nadeau Sensei tells a story of the first time he was called out by O'Sensei to attack him. My most memorable Aikido experience was the first time Sensei Nadeau 'called me out.'
Nadeau Sensei motioned for a kata grab and push to his shoulder. On my first attack I grabbed and pushed hard. Nadeau Sensei stepped back and I felt a firm and steady connection between my hand and his shoulder.
I delivered my second attack with the same intent. But this time I felt nothing. In fact, without understanding how, I found myself about shoulder height, parallel to the floor and felt a light squeeze to a very vulnerable part of my anatomy . . . I hit the ground astonished, and Nadeau Sensei grinned at me and asked me if I was OK. He must have been amused by the look on my face.
This experience of not knowing what had happened or how he had done it is at the heart of my conception of the magic of Aikido. I felt no resistance, yet I was effortlessly lifted to shoulder height and found myself in a most vulnerable situation.
Sensei Nadeau demonstrated the power of Aikido by being in a position to severely hinder if not remove my ability to pass my genes down to another generation and chose only to let me know that he had passed on that option. He demonstrated an incomprehensible feat of raising me 4 - 5 feet into the air without my feeling lifted and he demonstrated restraint in the use of power over me in such a compromised position.
I feel fortunate to have experienced such a clear expression of the power of Aikido so many years ago and am still awed when I train under Nadeau Sensei, who continues to teach and pursue the mystery and the power of Aikido.
We have a copy of the scroll on our wall at Aikido of Marin which guides our practice. Roughly translated, it reads:

"Teach the Aikido that cannot be seen with the human eye."

This is a copy of the scroll O'Sensei made for Sensei Robert Nadeau. I consider myself fortunate to call this pursuit my Aikido lineage and I look to Nadeau Sensei for glimpses of the 'Alchemy' in O'Sensei's Aikido.

Why I Continue to Train Aikido
I've heard Sensei Robert Nadeau refer to O'Sensei as an alchemist. In watching the movies of O'Sensei I see something occurring that I can't explain. When I attended a discussion between Nadeau Sensei, Mary Heiny Sensei, and Henry Kono Sensei, they played a tape recording of O'Sensei from 1963 and translated some of what he was saying about Aikido. His extremely esoteric and spiritual references were beyond me, but it became clear that this aspect of his life was a central part of his Aikido. I believe that O'Sensei's Spiritual pursuits contributed to his attainment of a level of insight that no one since appears to have achieved.
O'Sensei's Aikido included this esoteric and spiritual component, and what we are handed down in this realm is only a shadow of what he practiced. While pursuit of a better technique is something I continue to strive for, my emphasis these days is on capturing, discovering, and exploring this aspect of 'spirit' as a component of my training.
My perspective of the magic I'm seeking in Aikido is similar to the way Arthur C Clarke has described an advanced technology:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

As Aikidoists, the apparent technology we have are the techniques. But O'Sensei's Spiritual and Philosophical path is, although not nearly as codified as are the techniques, a major contributor to the popularity of Aikido in these times and part of what I consider to be the technology of Aikido.
Aikido techniques reflect and emerged from a mental state, O'Sensei's  spiritual and philosophical practice -- a practice as rigorous as his physical practice.
It's this philosophical, personal, 'growth of the spirit' aspect of Aikido that keeps me interested in and motivated to continue training -  and that I hope to be a significant part of what I pass on to those who choose to train with me.