Frequently Asked Questions

All martial arts include the inherent potential of self improvement. For the vast majority it seems this focus is on improvement of the physical capacity to inflict injury. I believe this focus also leads to a bias towards being focussed on winning at the expense of another.

The primary goal of Aikido study is to better ourselves. O’sensei was quoted as saying “There is no enemy in real budo (way of the warrior).  Real budo is the operation of love.  It is the operation of creative evolution which gives life to and nurtures all things.  Aikido is not winning and losing by fighting with martial techniques.” 

One of O’Sensei’s favourite sayings is reputed to be “Masakatsu Agatsu” (“True victory is victory over self”)  Masakatsu means the victory which comes from the correct method.  Agatsu means to have victory over one’s self.

On average, if you train at least 2 times per week it will take somewhere between 3 to 4 years to reach Black Belt in our style of Aikido.

This is a multifaceted question. There is always the potential for being hurt, we are studying a martial art. However, our Dojo  culture is such that we ALWAYS take pains to protect our members from injury, particularly new people.  The syllabus includes learning how to protect yourself and manage falling without injury. 

Alongside this it is important to note that some of the locking and pinning techniques do have specific compliance type pins that have the potential to introduce pain without any real damage to the function of the body. These techniques are few and treated with appropriate levels of safety. They also have the side effect / benefit of being “good” for the body in that the pain itself produces a response in the body that leads to strengthening and conditioning. 

Adult classes last for one and a half hours. There are various jobs to be done before class commences and these are part of being a member of the Dojo. We ready ourselves for training with some sort of warm up to loosen and prepare the body. The commencement of training starts and ends with a formal bow to show respect and thanks. We begin physical training with a session of weapons practice followed by tai no henko (a practice of changing your body to align with your attacker) and some sort of kokyu ho (“breath extension”) practice. We then do a session of locking and pinning (“katami waza”) followed by a session of throwing techniques (nage waza) ending with a seated kokyu ho practice and stretching to finish. 

Potentially, yes. However when done correctly, pinning will also allow time for an angry person to calm down or for authorities to arrive etc. I personally see pinning as often the “best solution” to a difficult situation. By way of illustration, if there is no option to walk away, consider the options of “beating someone into submission” or “pinning them without significant damage”. The principles of Aikido defer to the latter. 

We do not have any competition in our style of Aikido. There is no sparring. It would be too dangerous and does not contribute to the aim of our practice. 

Weapons in Aikido are used as teaching tools. The Founder created Aikido's taijutsu (open handed) techniques partly from his studies of Sword and staff. We are fortunate to have in our syllabus the strong relationships that were created from this process. The vast majority of the body movements performed with the sword and staff are mirrored in the open handed body movements and as such, the practice of both open handed and weapons practice inform each other. 

On a side note; It is my personal opinion that we study an incomplete sword school and practice only methods that directly relate to open hand techniques. Our study of jo is more comprehensive as is befitting a less innately lethal weapon.