We were lucky to catch up with Ivan Chaika recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ivan, thanks for joining us today. Looking back on your career, have you ever worked with a great leader or boss? We’d love to hear about the experience and what you think made them such a great leader.

Throughout my life, I’ve participated in many sports and martial arts, such as swimming, karate, basketball, judo, triathlon, and aikido. In each of these, I met incredible people, coaches, and Senseis. They are not exactly bosses, but great leaders.

The most significant experiences were with three of them: swimming, triathlon, and aikido.

In swimming, my long-time coach was Vitaly Marochkin, who taught me how to swim when I was 4 years old. He not only introduced me to the world of sports and future achievements but also taught me to think critically, take action, and not just talk about things.

In triathlon, my coach was Georgiy Lysov. He showed me the importance of endurance training and how to properly prepare for long-distance events.

In aikido, my teacher, and Sensei, who will always be my mentor, or rather Sensei is Maxim Shilin. He opened my eyes to the world of Yoshinkan Aikido, helped me broaden my perspective, immersed me in the traditions and culture of Japan, and introduced me to Japanese masters who deepened my understanding of this martial art and its philosophy.

Thanks to Maxim Shilin and the other Senseis, I continue to practice aikido to this day. I hope this martial art will stay with me for the rest of my life, just as the opportunity to demonstrate it, share the knowledge I have gained, and teach both adults and children, just as I was taught, will remain a part of my journey.

Ivan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As I said before, I spent a lot of time in sports. At some point, I grew tired of competitions that were unfair and corrupt, both from the opponents and the judges. Incorrect weight categories, age groups, favoritism toward the “preferred” participants, and many other issues regarding the lesser-known or overlooked aspects of sports can, quite literally, destroy lives.

I realized I didn’t want to be part of that world anymore and sought something new. I had seen martial arts clubs, but terms like “sports” and “competitions” always pushed me away. Then, a Yoshinkan Aikido club opened in my city, and I decided to read about it to understand what it was. It turned out to be a vast world with its branches and paths, sometimes running parallel and at other times diverging dramatically. The important thing I discovered is that Aikido is not a sport, it is a martial art, and the Yoshinkan style is still studied by Japan’s special forces and police to this day. The history of this martial art runs incredibly deep.

Being in good physical shape from my sports background, I thought, “I’ll check this out.” My understanding of Aikido had come only from movies and books, but none of this could replace actual practice. When I attended my first class, I felt that being in shape wasn’t everything needed to defend oneself and loved ones. Moreover, I learned how the culture and philosophy of martial arts work, why it isn’t a sport, how the psychology-reaction link operates, why strikes are often ineffective and dangerous in our world, and why it’s essential to know how to fall.

That’s how I met my teacher, Maxim Shilin. Over the following years, I also got to know many other teachers, including Japanese instructors from the school, like Sensei Hiromichi Nagano.

In my more than 14 years of practice, I became a teacher myself. I opened federations in various countries, but my main activity and students were in Ukraine.

Unfortunately, after the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, classes stopped. I volunteered in every possible way to fight the occupiers and help the Ukrainian army. However, after 1.5 years apart from my wife, who had to evacuate to Poland and lived there alone all this time, I suddenly began to reflect on where everything was heading. I realized that many of those with whom we fought back against the invaders had mostly died, and those who survived had left the country. I tried to do everything I could while I had savings, but as the war continued, my family and I were left with almost nothing. I had to sell my business and even the equipment from the dojo to be able to buy medical supplies for the military and for myself.

Soon, something changed in my government, and my comments on social media displeased someone in higher circles. In the end, a familiar person from these ‘high circles’ called me and recommended that I leave the country, as, quote, “People like you are not needed here.”

After nearly two years of full-scale war in Ukraine, I was reunited with my wife. We immediately understood that we needed to start rebuilding our lives from scratch, with a clean slate, so to speak. However, Europe was already filled with refugees, and over this time, people had become quite cold in their willingness to help those in need. So, I reached out to an old friend, Elijah, who lived in America (we had trained under the same coach and were on the same team when we were kids). He didn’t hesitate to help, and with his family’s assistance, my family was able to come to the States and settle down.

Here, in the cozy town of Anderson, South Carolina, my life story continued.
My wife Darya and I recently finished renovating our dojo, where we are always happy to welcome friends and students.

Thanks to my wife (who is my driving force and main helper), I decided to reopen the school and teach people what I love – martial arts – helping them become better, learn new things, and find inspiration in what inspires me.

We also have big plans for the future, but for now, we are excited to invite you and anyone interested to join us for the first training sessions at our School of Aikido Yoshinkan.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is culture and development.

Nearly 14 years ago, I began practicing Aikido. At first, like most people, I didn’t think much about it. But over time, I started to see the impact Aikido has on people—whether it’s a child, an adult, or anyone who starts training. It’s fascinating to observe how someone changes as they immerse themselves in this cultural environment. The difference before and after is clear.

What’s even more interesting is that, especially with children, a Sensei can immediately tell what kind of child has been brought to the training. Children are often a reflection of their parents. If a child is moody or rebellious, it’s often a sign of not being able to listen to their parents, even when the parents want to share something positive.

Training is always a collaborative process. The coach (Sensei) will always notice the weaknesses and offer guidance when needed. From there, it’s up to the parents to listen and collaborate with the Sensei, helping raise a good person. Or they can leave it to chance, but the outcome is rarely the same.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

During my time in sports, I learned what I thought was a very important lesson: that sport is not about development—it’s about achieving a goal, often by any means necessary.

I’m not talking about the people or friendships I encountered along the way, but rather the sport itself—medals, competitions, and the drive to succeed at any cost. However, as I mentioned earlier, I had a very negative experience in the world of sports, and one of the most striking examples of this was the sacrifices athletes make just to try and realize their potential.

The road to national-level competitions is long and difficult, not to mention international events. I witnessed coaches who, in their attempt to “raise” a champion, gave athletes performance-enhancing drugs without a second thought for their health. I also saw athletes who, after sustaining an injury, were discarded from the national team because their performance declined and there was no time for recovery. Additionally, I witnessed a tragic incident where an athlete died during a competition due to overtraining and doping use.

I wish I didn’t have these memories, but they’ve been an important lesson for me. Now, I make it my mission to ensure that my students achieve their personal goals without making such sacrifices or putting their health at risk.

Proper development, health, and well-being are the most important things I want to ensure for each of my students.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aikidoschool.space
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aikido.yoshinkan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/schoolofaikidoyoshinkan
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/gull_john/