At the age of twelve, shortly after Andrej Diamanstein had begun European fencing, he was introduced to Judo. Later, he studied Thai boxing and Linglom under S. Subastopong, and then Kendo, Karate and Aikido; the latter he studied throughout college under Sensei Asai from Düsseldorf. During this time he was also trained in stage combat and stage fencing at the Acting Academy in Bochum. In Berlin Andrej studied classical Shaolin Kung Fu at the Kung Fu Academy. In Innsbruck and in Berkeley, he studied Wing Chung (Loin Ting style).
As a professional actor Andrej Diamanstein would chang his residence every other year, and found it difficult to keep practicing most of the martial arts he had studied – styles were not necessarily offered in each city where he lived. He started to look for a martial art to practice that was as original, as pure as possible; a martial art that required a non-violent attitude from its practitioners; a martial art wherein little equipment was required; and most importantly, one that he could practice on my own, a martial art that required no partner.
Andrej Diamanstein found and began to study Iaido in Berlin under Gerald Eisenack Sensei. Philippe Sabatier Sensei became his teacher soon after. He has also studied under Sabatier Sensei’s teacher, Seigan Esaka Sensei, who oversaw all his Iaido exams.
