Amos Lee Parker Sensei was born in 1936, in Houston TX. After graduating high school at the age of 18, he entered the United States Navy. This would eventually lead to his training in Yoshinkan Aikido in 1962, under the guidance of Yukio Noguchi Sensei. Shortly after this training began, Noguchi Sensei left for Hawaii and Parker Sensei would then continue his training under Yoshinkan co-founder, Kiyoyuki Terada Saikokomon, 9th dan and most senior Yoshinkan practitioner in the world. He met both Noguchi Sensei and Saikokomon Terada while stationed in Yokohama, Japan.

On his trip across the Pacific Ocean, Parker Sensei had met a fellow sailor, who was demonstrating a few techniques that he referred to as Aikido. As it turns out, this gentleman had trained in Aikido and dared anyone to see if they could hold him in place. Parker Sensei tried and tried to no avail and once he learned the name of the martial art, he planned on joining a dojo upon his arrival in Japan.

He arrived at his duty station in Yokohama on a Saturday afternoon and the following Monday, he visited a local dojo, whereupon he started his Yoshinkan Aikido training. The instructor at the dojo was Yukio Noguchi Sensei, until his departure; and then Kiyoyuki Terada Saikokomon, who is today, still the chief instructor. Parker Sensei continued his training for the next 35 years under Saikokomon Terada, attaining his present rank of Haichidan (8th degree black belt) in Yoshinkan Aikido, which he received in 1986, and was awarded the title of Shihan, in 1994, by Saikokomon Terada.

While training in Yokohama, Parker Sensei taught at several dojos in the city, where he established dojos and promoted students to various dan levels. Upon retiring from the Navy, Parker Sensei had planned to return to the United States. However, before doing so, he wanted to make sure that everything he had learned and was teaching was correct. So he returned to his home dojo. Parker Sensei watched the techniques which Saikokomon Terada was teaching and realized that he had not been doing the techniques as correctly as they could be done. So Parker Sensei decided to stay and make sure that all his techniques were correct and stayed in Yokohama, Japan for another 20 years.

Parker Sensei is the highest ranking non-Japanese Yoshinkan Aikido instructor in the world and is senior to a large number of Japanese instructors as well. He is a humble, soft-spoken, gentleman, who demonstrates tremendous technique. Parker Sensei epitomizes the term "Sensei", he leads by example and shares everything he knows about our art.

Parker Sensei currently resides in Texas and is actively traveling the Americas, promoting instructors and teaching Yoshinkan Aikido clinics. As the highest ranking yudansha in the United States, Parker Sensei has been actively working on the advancement of Yoshinkan Aikido throughout all of the Americas.