Hello!I am a 53 year old American who has practiced aikido in Moscow, Russia for 7 years at Koinobori Dojo, and I highly recommend it (both the art and the dojo). I currently have a 1st degree dan black belt ranking from AIKIKAI Hombu Dojo, Aikido World Headquarters, Tokyo, Japan. I have taken the past year off because of major knee problems (old torn anterior cruciate ligament), but hope to resume practice soon. If you are interested in aikido in general, I recommend the web site of Aikido Journal (http://blog.aikidojournal.com/), and in Russia I recommend my dojo's web site (http://www.koinobori.ru/). Much of the site has been translated from Russian in English by me or someone else. Koinobori is headed by Marina Karpova, 5th degree black belt, the highest ranking woman aikidoka in Russia (I believe), and one of the highest ranking in Russia of either sex. In the US I have had very good experiences at John Messores' dojo near Tampa, FL (http://theaikidodojo.com/). Messores sensei is a 6th degree black belt and one of the main students of Shihan Mitsugi Saotome, one of the students of the Founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba.The Aikido Journal site recently posted a fun clip of Steven Seagal on Merv Griffin from many years ago. Go tot that site and scroll down until you find it. If you have to register, do so.Best regards,Douglas
