Michael Hacker

Michael Hacker is a martial artist, linguist, student, teacher, musician, writer, United States Air Force veteran, amateur mad philosopher, and native Iowan. He has spent the bulk of his life nerding out over language and linguistics and has studied French, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, German, and a smattering of other languages in addition to Japanese. (He's still trying to recover from the Tohoku accent that he apparently acquired during the five years he lived in Aomori Prefecture.) Michael...See more

Michael Hacker is a martial artist, linguist, student, teacher, musician, writer, United States Air Force veteran, amateur mad philosopher, and native Iowan. He has spent the bulk of his life nerding out over language and linguistics and has studied French, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, German, and a smattering of other languages in addition to Japanese. (He's still trying to recover from the Tohoku accent that he apparently acquired during the five years he lived in Aomori Prefecture.) Michael spent a decade-spanning two Emperors, three Presidents, and countless hairstyles-in Japan, training in Aikido and other martial arts, studying the Japanese language and culture, and earning advanced black belts in tonkotsu ramen. While in Japan, Michael had the fortune to share the tatami with such luminaries as Ueshiba Kisshomaru, Ueshiba Moriteru, Shirata Rinjiro, Saito Morihiro, Nishio Shoji, Isoyama Hiroshi, Donald Moriyama, Saito Hitohiro, and countless others senior shihan in addition to regularly training with members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Throughout the 1990s, Michael spent many a day and night training, eating, conversing, and sleeping at the Iwama dojo. In 1998, he relocated to Tempe, Arizona to further his studies with Jiyushinkai founder C. E. Clark and the students of the Jiyushinkan.
 In addition to being an Honors Alumnus of the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, California, Michael also holds a Master of Arts in Linguistics from Arizona State University. He has worked as a professional linguist and translator for various companies and government agencies and currently teaches at Arizona State University in addition to writing. Michael holds the rank of 4th dan, Jiyushinkai, and is an instructor at the Renshinkan in Mesa, Arizona. See less