Please join us October 11, 2025 from 10:00 am-5:00 pm Central time for the 2025 Midwest Future Leaders Seminar. This event will be held at Aikido of Madison, 2219 Atwood Ave Madison, WI 53704 and also be live streamed.
An important aspect of Aikido Shimbokukai's mission is the education of future generations of Aikido instructors and leaders. We have therefore established our annual Midwest Future Leaders Seminar, with training led by up-and-coming teachers who do not yet serve as chief instructors of their own dojos. Invitations to teach at this event are extended across organizational boundaries, serving to additionally promote inter-lineage relationships and cooperation that will be crucial for Aikido to thrive in the future.
Seminar costs and registration fees are kept low to allow as many people as possible to attend. This event is a great way for developing leaders to get experience teaching outside of their own dojo, to people besides their dojo mates, and for event attendees to train with some exciting up and coming instructors.
All affiliations, levels of experience, and styles of Aikido and also practitioners of other arts are welcome to attend!
(It’s our intention to have a series of seminars such as this, in various locations, and we hope people will support this endeavor for the future growth of Aikido. If your dojo or a dojo you know would be interested in collaborating an similar events please Contact Us!)
Our Instructors for this training event will be:
Austin Belknap Sensei, Nidan, Aikido of Madison, Aikido Schools of Ueshiba
Emily DeBow Sensei, Shodan, Milwaukee Shobukan, Aikido Schools of Ueshiba
Robert Kolada Sensei, Nidan, Midwest Aikido Center, United States Aikido Federation
Aaron Moskowitz Sensei, Nidan, Abiding Spirit Aikikai, Aikido Shimbokukai
The schedule for the day will be:
10:00-11:00 am Belknap Sensei
11:10 am-12:10 pm Moskowitz Sensei
LUNCH BREAK
2:00-3:00 pm DeBow Sensei
3:10-4:10 pm Kolada Sensei
4:10-5:00 pm Q & A Session
NOTE!!! For in person attendees, please bring bokken and jo, and feel free to bring water bottles. Also, by request of Aikido of Madison, please refrain from wearing indigo hakama on the mat.
There are a variety of options for participation-
- Participate live; in-person training at Aikido of Madison, 2219 Atwood Ave Madison, WI 53704.
- Participate virtually with your dojo mates from your dojo. For those who can gather and train together, please plan to attend the seminar from your dojo! Set up a computer, stream the event, and train!
- Participate virtually on your own from your home, or any location of your choice.
Please register using the STORE link above in the header. We will also be accepting walk-in registrations. Registration for the seminar is US$50 for in person participation and US$25 for virtual participation. For those with financial constraints please let us know as we have some scholarship options available. All affiliations and levels of experience are welcome!
We look forward to this event, and hope to see you on the mat, in person or virtually!
Registration now open! Click on Store in the Header!
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Registration now open! Click on Store in the Header! 〰️
Instructors
Austin Belknap Sensei, Nidan, Aikido of Madison, Aikido Schools of Ueshiba
Austin Belknap Sensei first encountered Aikido at a summer class in 2006 at the University of Texas - El Paso. He was particularly attracted to the soft, fluid, yet powerful movements as well as ukemi-waza. He continued studying Aikido as a college student with the Rice University Aikido Club, and later began training at Aikido of Madison in 2014 during graduate school. He spent a few years in the Seattle area and studied at Aikido Northshore and Aikido Seattle until returning to Madison in 2019. He currently trains at Aikido of Madison under Robin Cooper Sensei and Barb Brown Sensei and holds the rank of Nidan.
Emily DeBow Sensei, Shodan, Milwaukee Shobukan, Aikido Schools of Ueshiba
Emily DeBow Sensei started her Aikido journey in 2009 with the West Bend High School Aikido club. Then when she went to UW Platteville, she trained with the Platteville Aikido club for two years, from 2014 to 2016. After returning to West Bend she returned to the West Bend Aikido club that later became Milwaukee Shobukan where she trains and teaches today.
Robert Kolada Sensei, Nidan, Midwest Aikido Center, United States Aikido Federation
Robert Kolada Sensei was born in Poland in 1978. He started his adventure with Aikido briefly in high school in Zamosc - his hometown and continued growing the passion for it through academia times in Krakow. He moved to the USA in 2002 and joined the Midwest Aikido Center in Chicago in September of 2005, where he has practiced continuously until the present day. He holds the rank of Nidan since 2025. He serves as an instructor at the MAC for basic and advanced classes. He started Iaido practice in 2007 in Musoshindenryu under the Kiyoikaze Iaido Federation. He holds rank of Shodan since 2012. He became the chief instructor of the Iaido program at the MAC in 2023.
Aaron Moskowitz Sensei, Nidan, Abiding Spirit Aikikai, Aikido Shimbokukai
Aaron Moskowitz Sensei trains under the instruction of Lisa Tomoleoni Shihan. He started his Aikido journey in 2000 under the teachings of Brian Green Sensei, and then with Jeff and Les Hecht Senseis at Northern Illinois University. His first class at college was an Aikido class. After about 10 years of training, he left the Aikido world to start a family. He has been back for about eight years. He currently holds the rank of Nidan. Aikido has been inspirational to him since he started training. He uses the principles of Aikido on the mat, working to continuously improve the use of space, awareness, and relaxation. He also uses the principles of Aikido off the mat, using Aikido principles verbally to help him make connections and redirecting conflict to a mutually beneficial conclusion.