Kokugakuin University
Ikeda was born in Tokyo and began studying aikido in 1968 while attending college at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo. He relocated to Sarasota, Florida in 1976, and taught there under Saotome from 1978-1979. In 1980, he moved to Boulder, Colorado to establish a dojo there under Saotome's ASU organization. In January, 2015 Saotome decided to recognize Ikeda as an independent instructor so that he can pursue his own objectives apart from ASU.