First it is a martial art . This means it requires serious training and effort to progress.

It is a way of self defence, however, aikido is not intended to cause harm. We learn to immobilise or redirect an attacker and we do not teach attacks. It is also why aikido requires considerable effort to learn because you must develop enough control to manage an attacker but cause the least possible amount of harm.

First the student has to learn self control then you can begin to control the movement of others

In kanji (Japanese script) aikido is written

The term “Aikido” consists of three characters:

• 合, ai, meaning “joining”, “meeting”, or “harmonizing”;
• 氣, ki, meaning “breath”, or “energy”;
• 道, dō, meaning “way” or “path”.

Aikido is not violent, and there are no competitions

The classes focus on harmonious body movement and balance control rather than destructive striking techniques for self defence.

Everyone is expected to show respect for themselves, classmates, teachers and senior students and the dojo (the place where we train) .

Aikido training is mainly done with partners so it is important to learn how to work together rather than compete to make progress.