Michael Chiocca began studying martial arts when he was 13 years old. He studied Chito-ryu karate-do and Koseido-ryu jiu-jitsu under the guidance and direction of Hanshi Joseph Hedderman at a dojo located in Pittsburgh, PA.
When he was 25 years old, Michael moved to California. His first Aikido instructor was Dr. Grant Rex Kruhly who taught at the Do Satsu Ken Dojo (Insight Sword School) located in Mountain View, a dojo that Kruhly Sensei founded.
Michael trained with Kruhly Sensei only briefly before joining Aikido West where he began training under the guidance of Frank Doran Shihan and Cyndy Hayashi Shihan. Michael was promoted to Shodan in 2002 and is presently a Nidan.
