Starting Yoshinkan Aikido at The Makotokan Dojo
We have an ongoing program for beginners taught alongside and together with our regular classes….
Our aim is to train you ready for your first aikido shinsa (grading) in around six weeks. This is effectively your “start up” and following this you will fully integrate with the regular class.
Read on, and if interested please call us on 07845 170080 to book your place.
The study of Aikido has many benefits, these include…….improved all-round fitness, better body co-ordination, improved balance, the ability to utilise your body more efficiently and to greater effect, increased confidence, a more positive mindset , and a calmer and more balanced temperament. Aikido, whilst an effective self defence art, is really about self improvement.
Above is our fundamental practice of Basic Movements ….”Kihon Dosa”
These benefits do not come easily and require years of training, so we at the Makotokan are not offering a “quick fix” as this simply doesn’t exist in the real martial arts world (yes…Kill Bill and Kung Fu Panda are not real….unless you are the Dragon Warrior?). Instead we are offering a comprehensive training programme to develop a skillset, not just applicable in the dojo (training hall) but to all of life. All you need to begin this journey is the motivation to start………and then, of course, the motivation to continue.
This photo shows our first basic technique “Ikkajo Osae”
Here at an Aikido seminar in Japan, Phil, one of our members is receiving personal tuition from Chida Sensei, one of the most advanced Aikido practitioners in the world.
Unlike the so called “McDojo’s” who hand out belts willy nilly, it takes 4 to 5 years to gain a black belt at the Makotokan. It is said that those who achieve their black belt are “one in a million”, since , of all those that start in the martial arts, only a tiny percentage succeed to genuine black belt level, and then only to find that this is just the beginning.
Dennis and Warren on a recent club outing to Kyoto, Japan
If you join us, you will not only be joining a club, but a close knit “family” with a common obsession….the amazing and dynamic art of aikido!. We are also avid fans of Japanese culture ( history, food, films, language, lifestyle etc.) and very partial to a drop of real ale (or whatever) after training.
Please browse this website for more information and follow the link to our facebook page to see what we are up to at the moment.