CARRIE YONEMORI-sensei
Meet
another one of our valued instructors, Carrie Yonemori-sensei! She is currently a fifth dan and is the
instructor of the Open Aikido Class on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. She also serves as the Treasurer of Hilo Seishikan
Aikido. Yonemori-sensei comes from a
family with budo ties. Her father and
sister also hold dan ranks in aikido, and her brother is a judo black belt who
instructs at the Shudokan Judo Club in Hilo.
In addition, Yonemori-sensei’s grandfather was one of the first Jujitsu
practioners on the Big Island.
Yonemori-sensei was born and raised right here in beautiful Hilo. She attended Waiakeawaena, Waiakea Intermediate, and Waiakea High School. She then graduated from UH-Hilo and the University of North Dakota School of Law. (Try ask her about the winters in North Dakota sometime!) She is currently an attorney with an office here in Hilo.
Yonemori-sensei began training in aikido back in 1973 with the Children’s Class of Tokuichi Segawa-sensei with the old Hilo Aikido Club. She attained the rank of shodan back in 1979 under Richard Okano-sensei. Yonemori-sensei fondly recalls the many summers when she was able to train under Koretoshi Maruyama-sensei who came from Japan to conduct aikido classes at UH-Hilo. She and her sister Joni, used to practice in all four of Maruyama-sensei’s classes during the four-week sessions. Maruyama-sensei remains her inspiration in aikido.
On the personal side,
Yonemori-sensei has a few other favorites:
the Dallas Cowboys, Boston Celtics, color red, Chinese food,
seafood. She also enjoys traveling,
reading mysteries, doing craftwork, and photography.
Aikido has been a big part
of her life since she started back in 1973, and Yonemori-sensei feels that
everyone can benefit by training in aikido.
She feels that only good can come out of it, if you practice as often
and as hard as you can. “Go for it,”
she says.
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HILO
SEISHIKAN AIKIDO
O-Shima
Ryu
Hilo,
Hawai`i
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