Riviera Seminar

Patrick Cassidy

Patrick Cassidy is a 7th dan Aikikai instructor. He has been practicing Aikido for over 40 years. His primary teacher was Saito Morihiro Shihan, whom he studied with in Japan for 6 ½ years. He also spent extended time studying with Robert Nadeau, Peter Ralston, Richard Moon and Yoshinobu Takeda.

Patrick is committed to exploring not only the techniques of Aikido but also its internal principles and spiritual perspectives. He is inspired to look at Aikido beyond the level of self-defense and ask, “how does Aikido help us evolve?” For Patrick, awakening, development, and evolution are important themes of the practice. Patrick Cassidy Sensei is dojo cho at Aikido Montreux and leads the Evolutionary Aikido Community, with over 20 dojos around the world.

Patrick is also a long time teacher in yoga and meditation.

Bruno Gonzalez

Bruno discovered aikido as a teenager in Bordeaux. He soon decided to devote himself to practising with Christian Tissier in Paris. Driven by a passion for research, he enriched his career with various martial and artistic studies. With rigor and creativity, he now shares his experience with as many people as possible, striving to build more bridges than walls. You can find him at: aikido-brunogonzalez.com
Watch a video of Bruno Gonzalez: https://youtu.be/bnT93y-ydok?si=j4iWoM0lVpSLId7E

Miles Kessler

Miles began aikido in 1985 and moved to Japan in 1989 to train Aikido full time. He lived in Japan for 8 years training full time at the famous “Iwama Dojo” of aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba (O Sensei). In Iwama Miles trained under the guidance of the late Morihiro Saito Sensei, and Hitohiro Saito Sensei, including one year as "uchi-deshi" (live-in apprentice). Miles began teaching while in Japan under Saito sensei’s guidance and he has also taught internationally in Asia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

Since 1998 Miles has been a practitioner of Vipassana meditation in the Mahasi tradition of Burma and spent 3 years on intensive meditation retreat in Burma and Nepal.

In 2005 Miles moved to Israel and began teaching aikido and meditation. In 2010 he founded the “Integral Dojo”, a full time Aikido school, meditation center, and Integral practice community. He is also the founding director of "Aikido Without Borders", a Non-profit organization dedicated to bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in the practice of Aikido.
See a video of Miles Kessler: https://youtube.com/shorts/pnkrlEpuhcU?si=tqrDBaajAnBaf2GL