Back in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s in West Michigan, there was only one instructor to study Aikido in Grand Rapids with, Mr. Jerome Helton Sensei. While I dont know Helton Sensei personally, I have seen several public demonstrations by he and his students around the Grand Rapids area. At the time I first saw an Aikido demonstration I was an avid student of Shorin Ryu Karate under the well known and respected instructor, Mr. Brian Lentz, owner of ProKarate. I heard about an Aikido demonstration being held at the local community college and decided to check it out.

I had seen Aikido before and actually did a little bit at some self defense seminars held locally so I wasn’t expecting any surprises. I had never really witnessed the Yoshinkai style so Helton Sensei’s demonstration was my first experience of it. Although I didn’t really understand everything I was seeing, I was very impressed with the movements of Helton Sensei and the coordinated efforts of the students performing the demonstration. There was quite an obvious mastery of movement and a very apparent understanding of Aikido, even if I didn’t understand what was going on completely.

I must admit, I didn’t fully comprehend the extended arms, splayed fingers, and what appeared to be somewhat rigid robotic movements of the students, still don’t, but I ended up leaving the demonstration with a new respect for Aikido, respect for Helton Sensei and his students, and the seed had been planted for me to, one day soon, embark on an “Aiki” path that ultimately led me to Toyoda Shihan and the amazing education and experiences I have had as a result. Aikido in Grand Rapids was about to change forever…

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