Shiba Sensei

Sidney Shiba is the Aikido instructor at the Plano dojo and holds the rank of Sandan (3rd degree black belt). Shiba sensei began practicing Aikido twenty-two years ago as a student of Christian Tissier Shihan (7th Dan) while, at the same time, studying Software Engineering at Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

Shiba sensei lived in France for 16 years after emigrating from Brazil at the age of 21. He has citizenship in both countries and became a resident of the United States, along with his wife and three children, in 1997. Mr. Shiba is employed as a product planning engineer at Fujitsu Network Communications in Richardson and, as an avocation, teaches oil painting, pastels and charcoal sketching.

Shiba sensei studied Judo and Karate as part of his early marital arts training but found the non-confrontational philosophy of Aikido better suited for his personal development. He has adapted an eclectic approach to the discipline drawing from a wide range of Aikido styles now being practiced.

Reflecting on a maxim of the art, Shiba sensei states that, “Aikido focuses on the harmonization of conflicting forces, employing the energy of an opponent to dissipate contention. Aikido training develops a less confrontational way of living; however, the perfection of this art is a life long endeavor.”