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Steve Nelson Sensei
I first became interested in Aikido around 1981. I worked with a guy who was
taking Aikido, named Paul Sonia. Sometimes when things got slow at work, Paul
would try his Aikido techniques on me. I consider Paul as my introduction to
Aikido.
I took my first Aikido class in Santa Fe, New Mexico around 1988.
Several years later I moved back to Denver and began looking for another Aikido
dojo. I visited several dojos in the area and settled on Foothills Aikido in
June 1992. Though I started Aikido in Santa Fe, I consider Foothills my home
dojo.
My head instructor is Ferenc Gyulafia Sensei who holds a black belt in Judo and
is a Sandan (third degree black) in Aikido. Other instructors at Foothills
Aikido included: Jim Tummins – Yondan, Sharon Gabel – Nidan and David Lay –
Shodan. All four of these instructors taught Aikido from the heart.
I started as an Assistant Instructor around 1994 I earned my Shodan – (first
degree black), on May 25th 2000.
In March of 2003 our Dojo building was crushed under a 100-year snowstorm. And
since that time, classes had been held wherever we could find a place to set up
our mats. Membership suffered, and it got to the point where the idea of folding
up Foothills Aikido looked attractive.
But as luck would have it, in July 2006 Foothills Aikido found a new home at the Evergreen Martial
Arts Academy (Actually, EMAA found us - just in the nick of time I might add).
The facility is warm and cheerful and is a perfect location for blending harmony
and energy.
And I might add:
May it be another 100 years before we are forced to move again.
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