“[Kobayashi] was first introduced to Aikido by his father who had great influence in inviting Master Koichi Tohei, who was then Chief Instructor of Aikido at the Aikido World Headquarters in Japan, to Honolulu in 1953. However. his formal training in Aikido did not start until 1957, after his 3 years of military service. His first teachers at the Hawaii Aikikai were master: Yukiso Yamamoto, Kazuto Sugimoto, and Isao Takahashi. These masters were the first students of Tohei Shihan, the foremost authority on Aikido and Ki in the United States. Each of these masters was unique in his own way, and had a great influence in Kobayashi’s understanding of Aikido and Ki.
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