Mark Sohm
Mark has studied some form of martial art for most of his life. Aikido has become his home for training as the philosophy of peaceful resolution fits his worldview and the martial practices help him in everyday life. Mark is a Coast Guard veteran and currently Lead Security officer at Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center which provides many Aikido training opportunities. Mark is married to his lovely wife of over 35 years, Lori. Together thay raised five amazing young people.
Mark is also an Instructor Trainer for MOAB international (Management Of Aggressive Behavior) and WELLE deescalation for Legacy Health, co-chair of the Legacy Violence in the Workplace task force and co-teaches the quarterly women's self-defense classes at the YMCA.
Alex Blough-Swingen
Alex has been a student of Aikido since he was quite young. He started out training in a garage, where the most important rule was "Don't roll into the piano!", that is, if you wanted to avoid injury. Pretty old school for a young man. His creative mind finds many practical applications of Aiki principles, which translate into a holistic way of teaching that helps make technique and application both practical and understandable.
Alex is an accomplished chemist and will be studying law this fall 2021, of course, when he is not flying around the Dojo.
Dat Tran
Dat started practicing with the Shugenkai community in 2009 and considers Aikido to be a life-long path. Dat, even as an instructor, is still a model of the beginner's mind: "I feel like I learned so much over the years yet there's still much, much more out there to take in and I only hope that I could be a little help for you on this journey too."
He believes that Aikido provides the framework to get your body and mind working in the most efficient way, regardless your intended goal: for self-defense, for personal heath, meditation, discipline in daily tasks or maybe just having fun being thrown around on the mat. The possibilities are endless.
Dat is also an engineer when not on the mat.
He believes that Aikido provides the framework to get your body and mind working in the most efficient way, regardless your intended goal: for self-defense, for personal heath, meditation, discipline in daily tasks or maybe just having fun being thrown around on the mat. The possibilities are endless.
Dat is also an engineer when not on the mat.
Kelley Robins
Kelley currently holds black belts in both Aikido and Jiujitsu and has been a student of the martial arts for many years. She has a unique ability to provide clarity and structure in her teaching style, which is ideal to help students merge clean technical proficiency with elegance and grace. She also co-teaches the quarterly women's self-defense classes at the YMCA.
Kelley and her husband Dale enjoy world travel and serve the community tirelessly together in many and varied ways.
Jim Schwegerl
Our newest instructor is Jim, who is tireless in his pursuit of unifying Aiki principles into his daily life. Jim has an excellent teaching style, showing great skill in breaking techniques down to be easily understood. Jim is currently heading up entry level classes in ZOOM onThursdays, as his Physician Assistant studies keep him busy during the regular training times.
