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Scott Tomlin, 2nd Dan
Aikido of Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Division 1
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I learned of Aikido in the fall of 1994. I had just moved back to Virginia Beach to be closer to my family. A good friend of mine, Glen Phillips asked me if I wanted to try an Aikido class, but by this time I had been in my share of, well let’s say, altercations, and thought it probably would not be a good idea to learn actually HOW to fight. Little did I know that Aikido was about to teach me how NOT to fight, not to mention I would meet my future wife, Myra, in Aikido.
By 2002, through his tireless efforts, Glen Sensei, with the help of Elizabeth Pennell Sensei (formerly of Aikido of Charlottesville and our current Dojo sponsor) had taken a small group of guys from training in the park, to training in a non air-conditioned storage unit and finally to a store front where he promoted six shodans.
I took over as Dojo Cho in the summer of 2002. Our dojo has grown from its original seven members to about 20 adults and 20 children. We have 14 classes a week for adults, teens, and children, Mon.- Thurs. eve. and Tue., Sat. & Sun. morn. We teach Saito Sensei’s Iwama style weapons, and we enjoy membership with the California Aikido Association as well as Aikido Kids.com. Aikido of Virginia Beach also has a tremendous teaching staff: JoJo Santos, Mark Levine, Myra Tomlin, Bob Cordosi, Ken Meler, and Frank McDonnell. Aikido of Virginia Beach is dedicated to the memory of Anthony DioGuardi 1st Dan (1962-2001)
My most Memorable Aikido Experiences
Pat Hendricks Sensei’s 1996 East Coast seminar with Stephanie Yap taking ukemi. At the seminar Pat Sensei said she learned Aikido through ukemi and emphasized its importance. I teach a lot of ukemi, not only because of its importance to Aikido training but simply because I believe that is where the fun is. We are honored to be hosting Pat Hendricks Sensei on April 23&24, 2005 for Tai Sai on the Beach. This will be Aikido of Virginia Beach’s first major seminar and it is only appropriate that it be Hendricks Sensei, so save the date, this will be a seminar to remember!!
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