Chief Instructor Steve Nardone (3rd Dan - SanDan)

Graded by Alan Ruddick (6th Dan) of the Isle of Man.

Steve has trained in Aikido for over 40 years

He took up Aikido in 1964 where he became a member of The British Aikido Association. Steve in the early days trained with the late Cliff Gibbs 6th Dan & the late Mike Earnshaw 4th Dan, Mike was a member of the B.A.A . In 1968 they then joined Lancaster Budokan & trained with Bill Rankin,and in 1973 with the Late Mike Earnshaw, Steve & two others left & formed Lancaster Aikikwai to train again with Cliff Gibbs in Wu Shu (Chinese Martial Arts)they were then joined in 1975 by the Late Ted Price. In 1976 the Late Cliff Gibbs Professor of Wu Shu then left them to form The Wu shu Association, at that time Lancaster Aikikwai became an independent Martial Arts Club. Steve has attended many training seminars with many top grade aikidokas such as Terry Ezra, Don & Mary Pybus, Kanetsuka, the late George Aughton, Terry Bayliss, John Jenkins, Alan Ruddick, Shane Riley & also a weekend course in Paris with Steven Seagal. In addition he has attended other seminars organized by the I.A.B.C including one with the Russian Special Forces (SPETSNAZ).

Ron Holmes (2nd Dan – NiDan)

2nd Dan (Nidan) Instructor

Ron has trained in Aikido for over 30 years, Initially he trained with both the Lancaster Aikikwai & MADA (Manchester & District Aikido Association)under Don, Mary & Duncan Pybus. At the Lancaster Aikikwai he trained under the late Ted Price, Dave Fryers & Kevin Mills. He has subsequently been under the continuous instruction of our Chief Instructor Steve Nardone. Ron has also participated in various training seminars under the instruction of such renowned Aikikdokas as Terry Ezra the late George Aughton, Alan Ruddick, Terry Bayliss, Shane Riley and Ken Cottier In addition he attended other seminars organized by the I.A.B.C including one with the Russian Special Forces (SPETSNAZ).

Paul Ralph (1st Dan - Shodan)

Paul joined us when he moved to the UK in 2010. Paul has been teaching aikido since 2008, first as assistant instructor at Vancouver Aikikai and then as chief instructor of the University of British Columbia Aikido Club. He has also participated in seminars by instructors including Doshu MoriteruUeshiba, Shihan Yukio Kawahara, Osamu Obata, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Takeshi Yamashima, Claude Berthiaume and Shidoin Shin Chin, Peter MacLean, Yumi Nakamura, George Hewson, Fran Turner, David Yates, Don Ragush, Steve Erickson, Peter Helmer, Pat Olsen and Cecil Paris. Paul began training in Canada in 2001 and received his shodan from Kawahara Shihan (8th Dan) in 2009.

Oliver Thorne (1st Dan - Shodan)

Oliver is currently ranked Shodan (1st Dan) through the Tokyo Hombu dojo. He began training several years ago with Patrick Cassidy Sensei, 6th Dan where he was a live-in student (Uchi Deshi) for a total of 2 1/2 years. As well as travelling and training with some of the top teachers in Europe and North America he has also travelled extensively in South East Asia and Japan to practice Aikido, Yoga, Meditation and Thai Massage. His main focus is on Iwama basic technique and weapons systems as in the lineage of Saito MorihiroShihan. He also adds the dimensions of Free flow training and Jiyu waza to compliment this system. His current teachers and influences are Ulf Evenas Shihan, Terry Ezra Shihan and Bjorn Saw Sensei. He regularly travels and trains across Europe and further afield and is committed to a full time practice of Aikido here in Lancaster.