When I felt him I felt something I had never felt in either aikido or jujutsu and I just couldn’t explain it. The best way I could describe it was like attacking steel wrapped in cotton. He has such amazing connection. You just stick to him. He is really really gifted.

Was it hard to train with him?

It was impossible. His way of training was definitely not orthodox. Like sitting me in front of the bay and telling me to just watch the waves, or walking around the house with water cupped in my hand. He would close my hanmi by hitting me with a boken. Lots of failing on my side, he would tell me "Goldberg, you super stupid!" There was not a lot of praise. I was a 5th dan before I actually heard a real compliment. Because that's how he grew u, training martial arts since he was a little boy, like sumo and takenouchi ryu.On top of everything he is a phenomenal judo player who has made two national champions, so he just is a natural martial artist. But, his father was very rough on him. He’s just from another time.

What are the most important lessons you have learned training with Kiyama Shihan?

Shugyo. Shugyo is everything. He also told me a lot that he could he tell how you were progressing by the questions you asked.

Recently you have left Kodokai to set up your own school. Can you please explain why to our readers?

Well, it was a really really difficult decision. I have a lot of respect for Inoue Menkyo Kaiden and Kodokai. It basically came down to the fact that traditionally the Japanese were not interested in spreading Daito Ryu and what I was seeing made me concerned that this art was going to be lost. My attitude was that it is so hard to find martial artists who are able to tolerate the difficulty of this art and that it takes so long to really get good at it that you need to expose more people to it to find those that are going to really carry it forward. Takeda taught something like 30,000 people through seminars all over Japan and he only issued a handful of kyoju dairi. So if that's the ratio it takes, we have to work harder. I don't imagine Daito Ryu will ever be as popular as aikido and I don't want to make it more commercial, but you can keep a secret so well that it is forgotten.

Kiyama had already told me I was promoted to Shihan and gave me the traditional black jacket and that the hombu dojo was going to send the certificate, and I just felt increasingly really uncomfortable knowing that I disagreed with the hombu dojo about how to spread the art. I saw “Shihan" as more of a position in the organization rather than a rank and just thought it would be more respectful to decline than to accept it. I talked to Kiyama about it and he told me it was up to me to decide. I know it was tough for him and he might have preferred I stayed, but we are still very close and I still consider him my teacher.

Some people might think I should have first accepted the Shihan title and then left Kodokai after, as some have done, but for me the recognition from my teacher was all that really mattered. The hombu dojo had given me a 7th dan and a kyoju dairi, which is a full teaching license, and the third scroll, all of which very few other people have and all of which I am very honored and grateful for. But, I thought, Kodokai made me a teacher, so I want to teach.