Nico Secunda

Nico Secunda (4th Dan Aikikai) is the Executive Director and Chief Instructor at Aikido of Santa Cruz. He began his study of Aikido as a young child, training under Linda Holiday Sensei and other senior teachers in Santa Cruz. For over 30 years, Nico has been dedicated to the practice of Aikido and to embodying the spirit of nature through movement.

As a close student of Motomichi Anno Shihan (1931 – 2026), Nico has journeyed to Japan many times to deepen his practice and connection with the roots of Aikido through intensive training and pilgrimages to sacred sites.

Nico was steeped in indigenous spiritual traditions since birth, as the son of renowned shaman and spiritual teacher Brant Secunda. He spent his formative years as an apprentice, traveling to the remote mountains of the Sierra Madre in Mexico and to countless other places of power across the globe.

Currently, Nico is CEO at Boundlis Inc., an agency “helping good people do great things,” while also serving as Executive Director at Dance of the Deer Foundation – Center for Shamanic Studies and the Huichol Foundation, which provides economic and cultural support to the indigenous Wixáritari (Huichol tribe). He has served on the Provost Advisory Council at the University of California and as a Fellow and guest lecturer at the Santa Cruz campus. Always striving for further self-development, Nico is also a dedicated student and instructor at Santa Cruz Movement.

Nico is a member of the Aikido for Tomorrow initiative, striving to support the future generations of Aikido practitioners around the globe.