Instructors

Juan Pablo started practicing Aikido in 1998 in Venezuela under the instruction of Nelson Requena from the old Venezuela Aikikai. After a couple of months, he was taken under the wing of Homero Navas Sensei who later founded Dojo el Paraíso Aikikai that currently is affiliated to the Sansuikai organization.

In 2011, Juan moved to Riverside, California to pursue his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside.) Since then he has been under the instruction of Kevin Bash Sensei, a certified Birankai instructor who operates Riverside Aikikai at the university.

In 2017 he moved to New York to complete a post-doctorate, where he then joined the Long Island Aikikai Dojo and was invited to the teaching staff at the end of 2018. He was on rotation for Saturday classes until the end of 2020, when he returned to California. Juan currently holds the rank of Sandan.

Kevin Bash started practicing Aikido as an undergraduate at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) in the late 1970’s. After graduating from UC Riverside, he visited Japan multiple times to train before settling in Los Angeles, where he trained with Pablo Vasquez Sensei, the head instructor of Los Angeles Aikido. Kevin Bash Sensei was eventually promote to 5th Dan by Chiba Shihan, the founder of Birankai International Aikido group.

Aikido has been a passion for Kevin Bash for over thirty years now and he has been the chief instructor at UC Riverside since 1998. He is also adept at Jui Jitsu, Iaido, and Kendo.

Steve Rockett has trained for over 40 years in Aikido and has been an instructor at UC Riverside since 2004. He has also been involved with EEK Fitness as an Aikido instructor since 2013 and has taught Aikido to young people with disabilities, such as: ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation, and other neurological disabilities. He is also a certified meditation instructor. Steve currently holds the rank of Godan (5th) in Aikido.

Yulie started practicing Aikido in 2011 under Kevin Bash Sensei, the chief instructor of Riverside Aikikai at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside.) During her time at UC Riverside, the group of instructors included aikidoka developed from Kanai Shihan and Saito Shihan, in addition to Chiba Shihan. She trained and received her shodan there until her relocation to New York.

While living in NY, she joined the Long Island Aikikai Dojo and trained under Edward Hagihara Sensei and Adam Pilipshen Sensei for approximately 3 years before returning to California. Yulie currently holds the rank of Shodan.