Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Killblane.
Hi richard, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a family of boxers. I enlisted in the Army and served in Special Forces. I then went to West Point and won the light middle weight boxing championship and competed in tae kwon do. After graduation I served in the infantry and Special Forces. I trained three El Sal battalions during the second year of their civil war and participated in Operations Nimrod Dancer and Just Cause in Panama. After the Army I earned a Masters of Art in History from the University of San Diego. I freelanced for seven years until I was hired by the USAF as an historian but was not there for a year when I was offered the job as the US Army Transportation Corps Historian. In that capacity, I traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Haiti to observe logistics operations first hand and wrote extensively about them. I retired after 19 years in that job. While in the Army I continued to compete in boxing, wrestling and karate/tae kwon do. In 1996, I discovered aikido and have trained consistently in it ever since. I inherited my aikido dojo 15 years ago when my sensei moved away. What I bring to aikido is a wide martial arts experience that includes sparring. I have answered the question of whether aikido will work against other martial arts in videos on my YouTube channel, Virginia Aikikai. Aikido is currently taught as katas with no sparring. I am looking at ways to teach aikido more like other martial arts and help each student find and achieve his/her aikido goal.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing is easy. I’m missing my trigger finger and was not qualified for the Army. So, I had to get a waiver just to enlist and every army school after that. I didn’t get admitted to West Point when I applied in high school but managed to get accepted to the US Military Academy Preparatory School. West Point was an engineering school with a heavy emphasis on STEM. I was an historian. I liked the challenges of the Army and sought every opportunity to go to war. I did nothing more than train El Sals and plan my division’s operations in Panama. That seven years freelancing was a challenge to pay bills and still add to my history resume. But I met Jake McNiece and wrote my best selling book, The Filthy Thirteen. I found my dream job as the Transportation Corps Historian and got to go to war five times. I don’t think I ever felt more alive that when I was in a war. I road on 17 convoys, three of which were hit by IEDs. For my sins, the Army sent me to Haiti to cover logistics of the earthquake relief. For some reason, the former head of the tan books series at the Center of Military History did not even want to look at my manuscripts. I have nine books published. My aikido dojo fell into my lap. I’ve had to start sparring again (in my 60s and 70s) in order to prove it works and quell the criticism. I’m looking at improving the way aikido is taught while there is a lot of pushback from the traditionalists.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Virginia Aikikai?
I am a martial arts instructor who specializes in aikido. My dojo is Virginia Aikikai. It was founded by Pat Crosby in 1993, and I took over in 2011. In 2004, there were five aikido dojos in the Tidewater area, but now only two, mine and Aikido of Norfolk. During the years of declining interest in aikido our dojos have survived and are friends. Unlike most aikido instructors, I have a broad experience in other competitive martial arts. So, I can teach effective strikes and adapt aikido to other martial arts attacks. Most aikido dojos focus on preserving the art exactly the way it was taught to them by the Japanese students of the founder, Morehei Ueshiba. It is not an old martial art and most of the instructors that I have trained under, trained under students of the founder. I’ve studied a number of different styles of aikido and can teach those styles. While my dojo is an aikikai dojo connected with the Hambu (head) Dojo in Japan, I prefer the softer style of ki aikido, because I feel itworks better in a fight. I see my job more as an aikido coach rather than instructor. My job is to help each student find his/her aikido goal and achieve it. Some want an aikido that works in a fight. Others want to learn the magic behind the advanced level of aikido.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Joining aikido is like joining a large extended family. Students are welcome at any dojo. My dojo regularly trains with Aikido of Norfolk. The problem is working with other martial arts. I am surprised how few even spar and most don’t like working with other martial arts. I have to drive three hours to Lovingston, VA to spar with the Blue Dragon Dojang. They are a friendly bunch and love working with other martial arts. I learn more from them than they from me, and we have fun sparring. The pushback is mostly from traditional aikidoists who just want to preserve waht they were taught by the Japanese. I know there are aikido students out there who want an aikido that works. I have posted videos of how aikido works and does not work in sparing on YouTube. I’m looking for those students who want to learn how aikido works against other martial arts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vaaikikai.com/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@richardkillblane5698
