Our founder and chief instructor, Jonathan Bannister Sensei, has been a student of Budo martial arts for 28 years. Bannister Sensei served as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Kokikai Aikido International from 1995-2006, earning the rank of Godan (5th-degree blackbelt) from his honored teacher, Maruyama Shuji Sensei. Bannister Sensei is a founding member and current president of the non-profit Pacific Northwest Budo Association, and currently heads the Seattle branch of Tsubomi Seishin Kan Iaido Kai under Yoshimoto Trent Sensei of Tokyo, Japan. He has taught at countless public and private schools, higher education, business, and government agencies. Through his leadership Tsubomi Seishin Kan Dojo enjoys strong ties with martial arts organizations and teachers in Japan, Canada, and throughout the United States.

In March 2006, after more than 28 years of disciplined study with many of the finest Budo masters, Bannister Sensei experienced a true epiphany in practice: through beautiful and powerful techniques Aikido and Iaido both cultivate character and citizenship by realizing the natural unification of mind and body and the fallacy of violence as a legitimate means to resolve conflict. Bannister Sensei created the Tsubomi Seishin Kan Dojo in November 2006 to share his realization and his training method with the world. You are invited to visit the dojo anytime to experience the beauty and power of his art.