Operating out of the Heartwood Center at 1818 Dempster St., the Lakeshore Aikido Club is a recently established sanctuary for those seeking to blend physical discipline with spiritual growth. Antonio Terrone, originally from Verona, Italy, founded the club in late 2023, bringing with him a unique perspective on martial arts, deeply influenced by his travels and research in Asia and his training under renowned Aikido masters around the world.
Terrone, 57, is an associate professor in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at Northwestern University. He described Aikido as a martial art based on harmony and cooperation, dedicated to inner growth more than readiness for combat. “Aikido has this kind of appeal to spiritual seekers, just like tai-chi or yoga,” he said. “There’s no competition, there’s no fighting, there’s no tournaments, there’s no victory, there’s no loss. Aikido is about self-cultivation.”
Terrone’s journey
Terrone’s fascination with Asian cultures and martial arts has guided his life’s work.
“I’m a product of the late ’70s and ’80s, so Bruce Lee was a big star in the movies at that time,” he said. “I was bullied a little bit as a kid … so I put pressure on my parents to study Kung Fu.”
Terrone said they weren’t interested in Kung Fu, but did agree to enroll him in a Judo club. That club was the gateway to a lifelong journey for Terrone. He went on to study Taekwondo, and then began reading about “Shaolin monasteries, Taoist monks, Buddhism, Taoism and eventually decided to turn this into a profession. When I went to college in Italy, I majored in Chinese and Tibetan studies, with a minor in Japanese studies, and then in the Netherlands, where I did my Ph.D. I also did my graduate studies in East Asian studies.”
Terrone said he studied in Europe under two of the top Aikido instructors in the world, Christian Tissier and Wilko Vriesman. “I also went to Japan several times and I studied at the Hombu Dojo, which is the main headquarters of the Aikido Federation, and with some of the top Japanese instructors. As for the Japanese Aikido masters, I follow especially the teachings of Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, Seishiro Endo and Yoko Okamoto.” Terrone moved to the U.S. in 2006 after marrying his wife, an American citizen he met at a Tibetan studies conference in Oxford, England. They lived in New York City for a few years before relocating to Evanston, where they both work at Northwestern.
Establishing the dojo
“I’ve always been interested in opening a dojo [training center]. I’ve been in martial arts since I was 8, and I always knew I’d be involved in martial arts for life. After COVID, a lot of dojos had closed, and I said to myself, this is probably the right time to try.”
His vision materialized through the support of his friends Nancy Floy and Larry Akey at the Heartwood Center. Floy and Akey, themselves experts in integrative medicine, offered a space where Terrone’s Aikido Club could thrive alongside yoga, tai-chi and various other meditative and healing modalities. The city has helped as well, providing a Young Entrepreneur’s Grant that helped to cover initial expenses. All together, it took about half a year to get the club established.
Training at the Lakeshore Aikido Club reflects the cooperative, harmonic spirit of Aikido, which Terrone feels is closely related to the path of Zen Buddhism. “With both Zen and Aikido, there’s an understanding that there is only a path, and there’s not really a goal. There is no end. It’s part of your faith and your practice and your daily life.
“Aikido is about more than martial arts training. It’s a way to develop character, cultivate the mind and harmonize the body and spirit.”
In service to the community
Jeff Johnson, a seasoned Aikido practitioner with more than two decades of experience, offers a personal reflection on the impact of Terrone’s teaching. Having known Terrone for 10 years, Johnson said, “I think Antonio is kind of the embodiment of the Aikido spirit of harmonizing. He walks it the way he talks it. My training has only gone to a higher level working alongside him and calling him sensei [teacher].”
Terrone envisions the club as a hub for the Evanston community, offering a space where interested individuals can pursue physical and spiritual development. He also sees the club as an opportunity to advance the precious wisdom held within his Aikido lineage and passed down from his own teachers.
“Aikido is about community. The personal goal for me is to create a community of Aikidokas that follow my lineage. It will take a while to grow, but that’s my hope.”
The Lakeshore Aikido Club currently meets on Monday and Wednesday nights. This spring, Terrone will begin offering a five-week, 10-lesson introductory course for interested beginners. Terrone also hopes to start offering Aikido classes for children in the fall.
Further information is available here.