Our Instructors
Aimee Bel - Chief Instructor
Bel Sensei is the Dojo Cho (chief instructor) of Zenshinkan Dojo. She currently holds the rank of Godan (5th Degree Black Belt) with Aikikai Hombu Dojo.
She is a committed student of the art of Aikido. She began her Aikido training at Zenshinkan Dojo under Edward Haupt Sensei in 1996. After his passing, she trained under Damon Apodaca Sensei, James Nakayama Sensei, and Robert Caron Sensei. Her teachers are Ed Germanov Shihan and Mary Heiny Sensei.
In our youth program, Bel Sensei creates a fun and supportive environment where children and teens can begin to develop themselves as martial artists, leaders, and compassionate human beings.
In addition to Aikido, Bel Sensei is a student of Ikebana and meditation. Professionally, she teaches history in the Wellesley Public School System. She has been teaching in secondary education since 1996 and has also worked with children in special needs populations.
Esteban Martinez - Senior Instructor
Martinez Sensei is a Godan (5th degree black belt) certified by Aikikai Hombu Dojo, with over three decades of training in Aikido and Zen. He began his training in 1995 under Iris Ruiz Sensei at Goshinkan Dojo in Puerto Rico, and in 1998 traveled to Chicago to train intensively with the late Fumio Toyoda Shihan. There, he completed Toyoda Shihan’s live-in Kenshusei program at Tenshinkan Dojo, immersing himself in daily training, work, and Zen practice.
After moving to Rhode Island in 2001 to pursue Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University, Martinez Sensei became an instructor at Shoshinkan Dojo. Seeking deeper integration of Aikido and Zen, he joined Zenshinkan Dojo in 2007. His teachers are Ed Germanov Shihan and Hakuun (Gordon) Greene Roshi, abbott of Chosei Zen.
Martinez Sensei is also an accomplished Japanese calligrapher, the main teacher at Rhode Island Zen Dojo, and Associate Professor of Culinary Arts at Bristol Community College.
Eve Koffi - Instructor
Koffi Sensei holds the rank of Sandan (3rd degree black belt) certified by Aikikai Hombu Dojo. She began her Aikido journey in France, training under Jacques Muguruza Sensei, and earned her Shodan in Yoshinkan Aikido in 2006. Shortly after, she relocated to the United States and joined the Zenshinkan Dojo community, where she has continued to practice, evolve, and teach. Discovering Zen practice at Zenshinkan has profoundly impacted her path, integrating a quiet mindfulness into her martial arts journey.
Koffi Sensei anchors the dojo’s morning practice. She is deeply drawn to the unique atmosphere of early morning training, finding it the perfect space for deep, focused work. In the morning classes, her teaching emphasizes rigorous repetition and precise body mechanics, stripping away distraction to help students find the meditative essence of the art. She provides a structured, supportive environment where students can refine their awareness, cultivate stillness, and build a powerful foundation from the ground up.
Tom Maney - Aikido and Ikebana Instructor
Maney Sensei began his training in Zen and Aikido in 1995 under the direction of Zenshinkan Dojo founder, Edward Haupt Sensei. After Haupt Sensei's death in 1999, Tom has studied under various Zen teacher associated with Daihonzan Chozen-ji.
His emphasis is to show the synergy between mind and body training that is directly applicable to our daily lives. Tom has spent over 25 years training in both Raja yoga and Zen meditation. In the 1970s Tom dedicated many years to living directly with his teacher in a yoga ashram.
Tom currently holds the Aikido rank of Nidan with Aikikai Hombu Dojo. Since 2006, Tom has been studying ikebana of the Ohara School under Yoshie Takahashi sensei and Hiroko Matsuyama sensei. Tom holds an Instructor certificate in Ohara School of Ikebana and he is the ikebana instructor at Zenshinkan dojo.