April-June schedule: 

Tuesday         6-7:30  Regular class (ongoing)

Wednesday    6-7:30  Aiki-Foundations (Apr-Jun)

Friday             6-7:30  Regular class (ongoing)

Saturday       10:30-12  Bokken & Jo practice (Apr-Jun)                      

 Drop-in visitors from any affiliation are encouraged to join us. Please call/text or email in advance.

Fees

  • All classes – $190 per 3 month session or $65/month ($160 starting April 22nd)    

  • One class a week - $150 per 3 month session ($100 starting April 22nd)

  • Drop-in from other dojos: $10/class                                            * Discount for students and multiple family members.

Regular Classes - ongoing Tuesdays & Fridays

Our AKI way of training is based on the Aikikai curriculum, and emphasizes spontaneity, the capacity to respond quickly and intelligently to changes in the interaction. This requires us to be relaxed and sensitive to our partner’s movement, flexible of mind, generous of spirit. We take an exploratory and creative approach to Aikido study – expanding our awareness of space and lines and energy. Hence our organization's name: “kenkyukai” means study or research group. This way of training is challenging and uplifting.

Aiki Foundation - starts          Wednesday April 22nd

Aikido can be described as “doing yoga in traffic”.  We centre and align our posture, move mindfully, and build our capacity to respond to what comes at us - effectively, creatively, appropriately - rather than reactively. 

This unique class brings you the wisdom of Aikido in a format accessible for all bodies and abilities, with a focus on internal awareness. 

Solo exercises - release tensions and develop hara and whole-body movement.

Paired practice to test our centeredness, our mind-body, stability and agility, and then develop spontaneity.

Bokken & Jo - starts         Saturday April 25th

An exploration of Aikido with the wooden sword and staff. Focus on principles of posture, timing, and positioning, with solo and paired exercises and kata.

Suitable for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. 

Our way of practice

Change into your dogi. Step through the doors of the dojo and on to the mats. Shed the cares and happenings of your day. A few moments of meditation, followed by a bow, and then you are led through foundation exercises to relax the joints, stretch, lengthen and align, breathe into your hara, settle and expand into the dojo space. 

Then the paired practice begins. A collaboration in learning. You study the classic repertoire of Aikido throws and pins, with a focus on the underlying principles of timing and positioning and non-resistance. With your partner, you create just enough challenge for each other to explore a more and more refined and effective way to execute the techniques. As you advance, your training becomes ever more spontaneous.

Grading

Once or twice a year, you will be given the opportunity to grade. You will progress through 5 levels of kyu or white belt grades and then black belt or shodan. We follow Aikikai world headquarters grading guidelines. Grading is an opportunity to challenge yourself to perform, and to test your skill and understanding. It can be nerve-wracking, in a good way, and an immensely satisfying experience. Anyway, your Aikido journey is your own.