Vicksburg Aikikai

John Porter
Sandan, Fukushidion   

Chief Instructor, Vicksburg Aikikai
 
Sensei was born in upstate New York in 1959.  He spent the majority of his life in college, medical school and surgery training culminating in him becoming the Chief trauma surgeon at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine and a Professor of Surgery, Anesthesia and Emergency Medicine there.  However, he has always had a passion for martial arts and Eastern philosophy.  He has written a book, entitled The Tao of Star Wars, using Star Wars motifs to explain Taoism.
 
His path on Aikido began in 1997, when he started in upstate New York.  He studied in many organizations, settling upon the United States Aikido Federation, lead by Yamada Sensei.  After studying with Demko Sensei, who was a direct study of Yamada Sensei, he received his shodan from Yamada Sensei in 2001.  He then studied with Robinson Sensei in Arizona and received his nidan there in 2004 from Goto Sensei, a direct student of Saito Sensei.  He then studied with Kraus Sensei and founder of Vicksburg Aikikai and received his sandan in 2009 and was promoted to Chief Instructor.