Larry Reynosa was born in Torrance, California in 1951. He was exposed to the Japanese tradition and language at a very young age when he lived on Misawa Air Force base in Japan. After 5 years, he returned to the American continent and he traveled extensively with his parents in the states until they settled in Ojai, California. Larry Reynosa was a gifted athlete and he had a passion for many sports but his calling was football in high school. He received many scholarship offers to attend prestigious universities across the nation. However, after attending two years at Ventura College where he became an All-American football player, he was heavily recruited by many universities, but chose to attend California State University, Chico where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Arts.
After graduating from Chico University, he returned to Ventura County, he was looking for a new inspiration. During the month of January 1974, he was introduced to Nobuo Iseri Sensei who became his first Aikido teacher. Every Saturday, Larry devoted all his time to Aikido.
After 3 1/2 years in his studies, Iseri Sensei sent him to a seminar in Pasadena, California where he met Mitsunari Kanai Sensei and in 1978 successfully passed his Shodan test (first degree black belt) under his supervision. During this period, he not only opened his first Dojo called Ventura Aikikai, he earned his NiDan from Yoshimitsu Yamada, but also trained with Francis Takahashi Sensei who he referred to as his second great teacher, under whom he also earned his SanDan.
In 1983, after serving to create the Southern California Aikido Association, he unexpectedly met Steven Seagal, who literally changed the way he viewed Aikido. For the next 18 plus years, Reynosa Sensei chose to train with Seagal Sensei, however on August 21, 2001 Reynosa Sensei reached the end of his journey with Seagal Sensei, who had been given him his YonDan and GoDan. Reynosa Sensei chose to walk his own path and soon became the sole inspiration to his students.
Larry Reynosa was personally honored by the Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba in 2007 with a promotion to RokuDan (6th Degree Black Belt) and then in 2014 with the title of Shihan. Reynosa Shihan was inspired by many teachers from football coaches who taught him to push himself so he could become an excellent football player to one of the most renowned Aikido teachers in the world who ironically taught him authenticity, honesty and compassion in the martial art of Aikido. This account makes Reynosa Shihan one of the most valuable teachers of the 21st century.
