For nearly fifty years, in a spacious, bright second floor dojo, Aikido master and chairman of the US Aikido Federation, Yoshimitsu Yamada, has been teaching his art. Yamada Shihan trained under the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, and in 1964 was sent overseas to instruct a small New York-based Aikido club. It is from this location that he built the United States organization. Today, he continues to be highly sought after the world over as a visiting instructor. Mike, the manager and one of Yamada Shihan's students, described the dojo as "old school," a place that sticks to the "bare bones basics" of Aikido. They teach a sense of hierarchy, a respect of elders, common courtesy, and simple etiquette. "Sensei is the embodiment of this place and vice versa," Mike told us. Visitors come from all over the world to train under Yamada Shihan. Any day of the week one can hear a half a dozen different languages being spoken. "If we had a class at two o'clock in the morning, it would be packed," Mike confided.