Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 140 countries. It was originally developed by Morihei Ueshiba, as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy and religious beliefs. Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attackers from injury. Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the way of harmonious spirit". According to the founder's philosophy, the primary goal in the practice of aikido is to overcome oneself instead of cultivating violence or aggressiveness. Morihei Ueshiba used the phrase masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi" to refer to this principle.
Anathema were an English rock band from Liverpool. The group was formed in 1990 by Vincent and Daniel Cavanagh, bassist Jamie Cavanagh, drummer/keyboardist John Douglas, and vocalist Darren White.
Chris Knox is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group Tall Dwarfs with guitarist Alec Bathgate. The Tall Dwarfs were noted for their unpolished sound and intense live shows. His 4-track machine was used to record most of the early Flying Nun singles.
The Wildhearts are an English rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatles and 1980s-era Metallica. The Wildhearts achieved several top 20 singles and two top 10 albums in Britain, though they also faced difficulties with record companies and many internal problems often relating to drugs and depression. Much of the band's early career was affected by bitter feuds with their record company, East West.
Kazuo Chiba was a Japanese aikido teacher and founder of Birankai International. He served for seven years as uchideshi at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo before being dispatched abroad to help develop Aikido internationally. He held an 8th dan in Aikido, issued by Aikikai world headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and was active in Aikido for over 50 years.
Starz is an American hard rock and power pop band from New Jersey. Despite a lack of major commercial success, the band has a lasting cult following and has been cited as a major influence by bands such as Mötley Crüe, Poison, Bon Jovi, and Twisted Sister.
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm, better known by his stage name Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23 and Jerusalem Slim.
Elemeno P is a New Zealand rock band. The band's first album, Love & Disrespect was released on 4 July 2003, and reached number one on the RIANZ albums chart. Their second album, Trouble in Paradise was released on 24 November 2005 and includes the singles "11:57", "Burn", "One Left Standing", and "You Are". Their third album, Elemeno P was released on 26 May 2008.
Jan Hermansson was one of the first aikido pioneers in Sweden, and a respected aikido practitioner in the country. His rank was 7th dan shihan in the aikido organisation Aikikai.
Chris Catalyst is a British rock singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work with The Sisters of Mercy, Ugly Kid Joe, Ginger Wildheart, Terrorvision, The Professionals, Mariachi El Bronx, The Scaramanga Six and his own band, Eureka Machines, as well as his more recent solo career. On 18 May, 2022, Chris confirmed that he has been a 'Nameless Ghoul' that tours with the Swedish metal band Ghost
Francis Edward Turner, is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. In the studio and during live performances, Turner is accompanied by his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, which consists of Ben Lloyd, Tarrant Anderson (bass), Matt Nasir and Callum Green (drums).
Christopher Paul Persaud-Jagdhar, known professionally as C. J. Wildheart is an English musician of Guyanese and Seychellois descent. He is a solo artist and also a founding member of the UK rock band The Wildhearts.
Danny McCormack is an English singer and bassist.
Downtown Puff is a solo album by Edmund Cake. Although multi-instrumentalist Cake played various instruments and performed vocals on the album, other musicians and singers on the album include Anna Coddington, Neil Finn and Tim Finn. Geoff Maddock and Joel Wilton of Cake's short-lived earlier band and Flying Nun phenomenon Bressa Creeting Cake, now of Goldenhorse, also appear on the album.
Edmund Cake is the musical solo project of Edmund McWilliams, an alternative rock musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. Formerly of Bressa Creeting Cake in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the band in 1997 he released the 2004 solo album Downtown Puff on Lil' Chief Records. In 2009 he released another album with the band Pie Warmer.
Tiki Taane is a New Zealand-based musician, experimentalist, musical activist, producer, and live engineer. He was a member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub but left after eleven years on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career. His debut album, Past, Present, Future, was released on 22 October 2007 in New Zealand and has since gone two times platinum, achieving a number one single, "Always on My Mind", which became the first digital single to reach platinum sales and also held the record by staying in the NZ Top 40 Charts for 55 weeks. Taane is also the exclusive live sound engineer for New Zealand drum and bass act Shapeshifter since their first gig in 1999. Taane has also produced multi platinum albums for bands such as Six60, Shapeshifter, Salmonella Dub and Tiki Taane.
Ginger Wildheart, sometimes known simply as Ginger, is an English rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career as a guitarist in The Quireboys, but is best known as the founder and leader of The Wildhearts. In addition, he has released numerous solo albums and has been involved in many other musical projects.
Titanium was a New Zealand pop boy band formed in Auckland in 2012 from the winners of The Edge radio station's competition to create New Zealand's first authentic boy band. The Edge radio station hosted auditions across New Zealand and eventually six young men were selected for the group consisting of members, Zac Taylor, Andrew Papas, Jordi Webber, Shaquille Paranihi-Ngauma, Haydn Linsley and T.K Paradza. They released their debut single, "Come On Home". The single debuted at number one on the official New Zealand Singles Chart on 17 September 2012. Titanium released their debut studio album, All For You in December 2012. They became the first New Zealand band to have three songs in the Top 40 Singles Chart at one time.
Mournblade are a heavy metal band, formed in 1982 and originating from London, England. The early incarnation falls into the category of space rock. The latter incarnation is regarded as one of the last bands of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. The band is named after a sword from Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné stories.
Jacques Payet is a practitioner of Yoshinkan-style aikido. He was the longest-serving non-Japanese uchi-deshi of Yoshinkan founder Gozo Shioda and is ranked Hachidan in the Yoshinkan organization, with the honorific Shihan. He is the founder and head instructor of Mugenjuku dojo and the Mugenjuku Kenshusei program in Kyoto, Japan. He is also the originator of the well-known Senshusei Course, a translator of several important works in aikido, and a guest instructor in demand around the world.
