Jiyushinkai Founder and Chief Instructor
C. E. Clark
Born in 1947, Clark sensei began budo training at the age of six and has continued his practice through the present. Clark has studied in the U.S., France, Japan, Canada, and Republic of South Vietnam, and holds the rank of Jiyushinkai Shihan, 8th dan, (has also practiced Kodokan Judo, karate do, jujutsu, Shinto Muso Ryu Jo and T’ai chi ch’uan). Clark has trained under a number of top-level teachers, and has been most strongly influenced by F. Fujita, J. Bayless, R.L. Willingham, E. Cates, F. Hatashita, K. Geis, T. Miyake, P. Relnick, and T. Nishioka. He founded his own organization, the Jiyushinkai, in 1984. A U.S.M.C. veteran of Vietnam and former hospital manager and consultant. Clark is now a writer and budo teacher at the Jiyushinkan in Monroe, WA. He has a son, Aaron (7th dan, Jiyushinkai), two grand-daughters, and two dogs, Susie Q and Sherry Baby.
Renshinkan Instructors
Charlie James
Born in 1965, Charlie has been practicing Aikibudo since 1995 as well as Shinto Muso-ryu jo (Menkyo) and other Japanese koryu with Phil Relnick. His instructors are C. E. Clark and Aaron Clark. He holds Jiyushinkai 4th dan and is an instructor at the Renshinkan.
Carl Bilodeau (dōjō-chō)
Born in 1968, Carl began his budo training in 1995 under C. E. Clark in Arizona. His practice has been influenced by several teachers in the Jiyushinkai system, his peers, and Stan Conner. He holds Jiyushinkai 4th dan and is an instructor at the Renshinkan. He also studies Shinto Muso-ryu jo with Phil Relnick.
Michael Hacker
Born in 1969, Michael began his martial arts training in the late 70’s with Tae Kwon Do under the late Suk Ki Shin. He started Aikido in the late 1980s, and has had exposure to various Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Filipino martial arts. After living and training in Japan for 10 years, Michael decided to relocate to Arizona to study Jiyushin-ryu Aikibudo. His primary influences are Donald Moriyama, Amano Shigeko, the late Saito Morihiro, C. E. Clark, Aaron Clark, David Martin, and the late Stan Conner. Michael is fluent in Japanese and is the author of The Language of Aikido: A Practitioner’s Guide to Japanese Characters and Terminology. He holds Jiyushinkai 4th dan and is an instructor at the Renshinkan.
Nadereh Nabai
Nadereh stepped into the dojo and onto the mats for the first time in 2001, hoping to encourage her then 11-year-old daughter to train. She ended up falling in love with the art and began formal training in 2004, first under the guidance of Chuck Clark sensei and later Aaron Clark sensei. Nadereh currently holds Jiyushinkai 4th dan and sho-mokuroku in Shinto Muso-ryu jo.
For more information on licensed Jiyushinkai teachers in other areas, please visit Jiyushinkai.org.
