Don Angier, aiki master

Don Angier was mentored, as a young man, in Yanagi-ryu aiki bugei by its soke, Yoshida Kenji, son of Yoshida Kotaro. It was Yoshida Kotaro who introduced Morihei Ueshiba (founder of aikido) to Takeda Sensei of the Daito Ryu, and who sponsored Ueshiba into the Daito School. Before his death in 1954, Yoshida Kenji passed the title of soke, or Inheritor, to Angier. Soke Angier was given the hanko, or seal, bearing the Yanagi Ryu name and authority. Soke Angier taught aiki jiu jitsu publicly from 1955-1988, but now teaches only to a few chosen students at his home in Long Beach, California.

Rico says he was lucky enough, while a student of aikido and training in classes given at Stanford University by a local sensei, to attend some sessions in the late 1980s taught by Mr. Angier, and even got to train, momentarily, with the master himself. You may think you can fake it when confronted by a master, but you can't...
Rico says he never felt such power coming from such an unprepossessing man.