Arturo Peal

Chief Instructor of New Orleans Light Academy, Co-Founder

Arturo began studying Aikido in 1984 in Seattle. He began teaching kids in 1987 and ran the kids Aikido program at the Seattle School of Aikido, he directed the children’s aikido program at Aikido of Santa Barbara from 2009 through 2018. In 2019 he was asked to become the chief instructor of Aikido of New Orleans.

He holds a sixth-degree black belt in Aikido and is a Shidoin (qualified instructor) with the United States Aikido Federation.

He has taught anatomy and therapeutics for yoga teacher training for over 20 years.

Arturo has been a Star Wars fan since 1977.

Brian McCormick

Manager of New Orleans Light Academy, Co-Founder

Brian is an artist, web designer and developer.

He works behind the scenes organizing workshops, updating the website and social media accounts.

Brian has also been a fan of Star Wars since a long time ago.