Charles Colten works at the confluence of the martial arts, healing arts and communication arts; investigating ways that Qi Gong and Aikido inform and complement one another by interweaving solo practice with partner connectivity and flow. He is honored and delighted to be among the teaching faculty at the Qi Center.

Charles’s Qi Gong research includes more than 30 years of study from a variety of sources. He is eternally grateful to the root teachers of the Qi Center, Master Zhongxian Wu and Sifu Thomas Droge, for their instruction and guidance over the past 15 years. The shamanic shaking and cultivation practices they shared have profoundly influenced his practice and teachings.

Charles currently holds the grade of 6th degree black belt in Aikido, and is a direct student (Deshi) to Endo Seishiro Shihan, who was himself a direct student of Aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba (O Sensei). Charles has founded dojos in New York, California and Maine and is also the Founder, Director, and Chief Instructor for “Aikido in the Schools”, which brings the physical and pro-social benefits of Aikido into public and private schools.

In the healing arts, Charles developed Aikisomatics, a modality combining Aikido principles and movements with the somatic emotional release practices he learned from the study of Hakomi with its founder, Ron Kurtz.

He holds a Doctorate and a Masters in Education and his work in that field focuses on schools as integrated living systems and also in sharing ways that teachers, through professional development, advance toward mastery in the art of teaching.

Deeply informed by the living world, Charles views the animate world as his teacher, role model, and spiritual compass. He currently lives in Maine and regularly gives seminars, workshops and classes in schools and dojos around the country. www.circle123.org