Aikido/Finding a Dojo

< Aikido

Browse through any martial arts magazine and you'll find ads for videotapes offering to teach you some style of art (including Aikido) in thirty days or your money back! Videos are a useful training device, but they are no substitute for a good instructor at an established school. There are several problems with learning from videos:

  1. They show only one way to do a technique against whoever appears on the tape. Live practice gives you experience with many different body types.
  2. Most styles of Aikido do not rely on solo kata forms (though there are exceptions). Learning aikido requires the willing cooperation of another person who will attack and take falls for you.
  3. Perhaps most importantly, a video will never tell you when you are doing it wrong (or right!).

If you are serious about learning aikido, find a qualified instructor at a local school. Some things to consider include:

  1. Depth of instructor's knowledge and skill in teaching
  2. Physical aspects of the school: good mats, clean, changing rooms, showers, privacy, etc.
  3. Is this school part of a larger association and is it accredited? What kind of standards do they have?
  4. What kind of people practice there? Is it large or small? Do you already have friends there?
  5. What kind of vibe does the place have? This may be more important than you think.

Before diving into some of these topics in more detailed, let's explore locating a school near you.

Locating a School Near You

Ideally, your aikido school should be close enough that it isn't a burden to travel there to practice. You don't want to be always asking yourself the question: Do I want to drive all the way over there tonight? Only you can assess how convenient a school is. It might be close to where you work, it might be close to home, or it just might be simple to drive there (hop on the highway).

So how do you go about finding a school?

Use the Internet

These days, your best bet is to use the internet to local a school. You can start with [Maps|Google Maps] (or similar search tools) by entering "aikido school near my-town". There are [on-line directories] that might assist you, including one at [Aikido FAQ]. Regardless of how you search, most established schools will have a web site these days - it's up to you to find it and write down the address, telephone number, etc.

Dojo web sites will also often list class times, have biographies of the instructors, provide an overview of their style and many other details that you might want to take into consideration when selecting a school.

Use the Yellow Pages

In days gone by, the yellow pages was the place to look for a martial arts school. As the internet has grown, fewer schools bother to list in the local yellow pages. Still, it's worth given a quick look at the books in your geographical area. Aikido might be listed under any of the following topics:

Write down any schools you find: name, address, and phone number. Jot down the chief instructor's name, too.

Ask Friends

In addition to the above, try asking your friends. Inevitably, at least one of your friends will know someone who practices some form of martial art. Seek them out and ask them if they know of an aikido dojo in the area. Often students of one style of martial art are familiar with what else is offered in the area (katate, Tae Kwan Do, Kung Fu, etc.). If you are very lucky, one of your friends might already be studying aikido or perhaps they were the ones who got you interested in the first place. If so, work with them to arrange a time when you can visit the school with them. Your friend can likely answer many questions you might have about aikido in general or this particular school.

Be frank when asking questions:

Ask instructors of Other Styles

If the above methods fail to turn something up, you might try asking instructors at other local schools if they know of an aikido school nearby. This can be a bit tricky since teachers of other martial arts would much rather you studying with them. That may even be of interest to you, but if you are sure about aikido as your course of study, then give them a call and ask.

Why would the techniques mentioned above fail? Simply this: there are private schools that do not advertise. These are dojo's that have formed around an advanced student or instructor who has no interest in the commercial side of aikido. He (or she) just wants to train himself and is willing to invite promising students to practice with (and teach along the way). There are many truly outstanding teachers who fall into this category, but be aware that facilities may be very limited or crude (a garage with a few mats). If you do end up visiting such a school, be very wary of the feel of the place, students, and teacher (see Energy Environment, below).

Evaluating a Teacher

Much of what you learn about aikido and how effectively you can use those skills depends on your teachers. As you might expect, truly great teachers are pretty rare. Fortunately, there are many, many good aikido instructors. But if you are new to aikido, how can you recognize a good teacher? In general, you want a teacher who has a deep knowledge and understanding of the art and who can communicate it effectively. You want someone who will provide a safe environment for your to learn and practice in and will guide and support you as you advance in skill. These things are difficult to assess as a beginner, especially if you have no experience with the martial arts.

Evaluating a teacher breaks down into the following areas:

One cautionary note. No one likes to be judged, yet we make decisions about people all the time. Finding a good teacher is an important decision and you owe it to yourself to evaluate how it will turn out. The key to doing this sorts of evaluation is respect. Respect this person whom you might have a very close relationship over many years. It wouldn't do to have a bad beginning because you asked too many probing questions or seemed to doubt teaching ability.

The Aikido Teacher Evaluation Exercise is provided as means to evaluate an aikido instructor.

Assessing the Energy Environment


This article is issued from Wikiversity - version of the Tuesday, July 08, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.