Barbara Litt, head instructor of Aikido Kokikai Pittsburgh, 6th dan, has taught Aikido in Pittsburgh, PA from 1995, at the Wilkins School Community Center from 1997 to 2023. From 2024, she utilizes the space at Shaolin Studios (not related to their programming). Barbara began to study Aikido in 1988 in Princeton, NJ, and is now a senior student of Sensei Shuji Maruyama, of Nagakute, Japan, whom she saw several times a year, until the pandemic. Since 2021 Barbara serves on the Board of Directors of the Aikido Kokikai Federation (AKF) USA. She has instructed at Philadelphia Aikido workshops, at the AKF Fall Camp, and once at the Hombu Dojo in Japan. Barbara teaches Aikido because the practice has greatly improved her life and she wants to share its potential with others. The longer she practices Aikido, the more wonderful it gets—and it is always interesting. Barbara’s day job is teaching Japanese language and culture at Carnegie Mellon University.
