Kimeda shihan (9th Dan AYF) is the Chief Instructor of Aikido Yoshinkai Canada and the most senior teacher of the Yoshinkan Aikido system in the world. He was born in Tokyo in 1941. He began his study of Aikido at Meiji Gakuin University under Takashi Kushida sensei. He achieved the rank of 3rd degree black belt by the time of his graduation from Meiji University.
Kimeda sensei arrived in North America shortly after his graduation, and began to lay the foundations of Yoshinkan Aikido on this continent. He later returned to Tokyo and became an uchideshi (lit. “inside student”) under Gozo Shioda, the founder of Yoshinkan Aikido. He subsequently returned to Canada and settled in the Toronto area.
Kimeda sensei has been actively spreading Yoshinkan Aikido in Canada for over 60 years. He has brought virtually all of the top Yoshinkan instructors to Canada to share their experience with his students. He has also taught hundreds of students to the black belt level. He is considered by many as the father of Yoshinkan Aikido in North America. He continues to be intimately involved with all of the affiliate dojos of AYC; including, Aikido Yoshinkai Ottawa.