Our Instructors
Ralph Bryan (6th dan)
Ralph first experienced aikido during a semester of study at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1976 – attracted to its philosophical underpinnings and noncompetitive approach. Returning to Austin, TX that same year, he practiced with the Austin Ki Society for 2 years. Medical school intervened from 1978 – 1982 after which Ralph resumed aikido practice with Mitsugi Saotome Shihan at Aikido Shobukan Dojo in Washington, DC from 1982 – 1987. Professional obligations intervened again when he joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta in 1987. He resumed aikido practice in 1994, training sequentially under Wade Ishimoto Sensei and Jim Redel Sensei until 2006 when Shizuo Imaizumi Shihan certified Ralph as a Chief Instructor of ASBK. He promoted him to Rokudan on October 1st, 2022. Ralph is the editor and principal author of The Aikido of Shin-Budo Kai, A Guide to Principles and Practice. He also trains in Shinto Muso Ryu Jodo under the auspices of Phil Relnick Sensei.
Chief Instructor
Jennifer Miyashiro (5th dan)
Jennifer’s first exposure to aikido was in the 1980s when she watched her cousin participate in a demonstration on Maui. Although impressed by the fluid movements and power of the art, it wasn’t until 2001 that she decided to give it a try herself. That year she began her aikido training in Shin-Budo Kai style aikido in Albuquerque with Jim Redel sensei. Since 2006, she has studied under Ralph Bryan Sensei. After years of practice with her fellow aikidoka, she is still impressed by the powerful grace that this martial art can generate. Jennifer was promoted to godan in October 2025.
Assistant Chief Instructor
Nick Wechselberger (3rd dan)
Throughout the years, Nick has trained at several dojos throughout New Jersey, Washington state, and New Mexico, as well as attending aikido summer camps and instructor training seminars. During his time at Southwestern Aikikai in Albuquerque, Nick was enrolled in the kenshusei (instructor training) program and was uchideshi (dojo resident-understudy); while there, he received the rank of shodan from Dennis Abbott sensei in 1998. Subsequently, at New Mexico Aikikai, Nick was promoted to nidan by Kristina Varjan Shihan in 2008. His particular interest is learning Aikido with his fellow students through ukemi, the art of receiving the throw, and connection between training partners. Nick has been with ASBK since 2015 and was promoted to sandan in October 2019.
Assistant Instructor
Amy James (shodan)
Amy began studying aikido in 1996 while teaching English in Japan. Originally, she was looking for a cultural experience through the tea ceremony but couldn’t find a teacher. Guided to aikido, she was quickly hooked by the generosity of her teachers and practicing with people in their 20s through their 80s. After returning to the US, she studied for two years with Josef Birdsong-sensei in Austin, Texas before moving to Albuquerque in 2001. Amy began studying with ASBK in 2003. Her aikido journey has been punctuated by long breaks from moving to different countries and states; changing jobs, and family circumstances. She has returned home to ASBK since 2016 and attained her shodan rank in 2021. Amy loves aikido because it is fun, challenging, and good for the mind and body.