Cambridge Aiki Dojo

Bank Holiday weekends this summer

There WILL be a class on Sunday, May 4th, but there WILL NOT been classes on either Sunday, May 25th or Sunday, August 24th. That will give you chance to practice suburi and kata in the comfort of your own back garden!

Cambridge Aiki Dojo beginners pamphlet

Available for your education and viewing pleasure: the new dojo pamphlet (PDF, 325KB).
It has been designed to introduce new members of the dojo to the fundemental things they need to know:

• Membership and insurance
• Where to get practice clothes and weapons
• How to join the mailing list, and stay up-to-date
• The basics of dojo etiquette
• About our grading syllabus
• Essential terminology
• An explanation of the dojo motto

this website will reamin a really good source of information and answers, but remember - if you're not sure about something, you can always ask one of the senior grades in the class, and they will be happy to help you.

Thanks to Hugh and Britta for producing the pamphlet.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Joining the Komyokan Aikido Association

Cambridge Aiki Dojo is pleased to announce that it is joining the Komyokan Aikido Association (KAA), under the leadership of Terry Ezra shihan.

Consequently gradings and curriculum in Cambridge will be conducted in accordance with KAA guidelines. Notwithstanding this, our dojo has thrived on freedom of expression and styles of aikido, as well as benefitting from the diverse range and depth its teachers, in addition to Chief Instructor, Simon Whittaker (Messrs Davies, Britta, Steve, Matt in particular). And this freedom will continue as we move under the umbrella of KAA.

It is important to make some comments about the UKA (the association to which we were previously affiliated), and in particular Keith Hayward sensei, who many of you know, and who has been head of our ‘house’ within the UKA. We are grateful for the support and teachings of Sensei Hayward in recent years, and our heartfelt thanks go out to him. Secondly it is expected, and encouraged, that we will continue our interaction with UKA and attendance at its many excellent courses. Equally we will continue to welcome instructors and students affiliated with UKA at our dojo in Cambridge.

We now looking forward to a new era in the development of our dojo, whose real strength comes from you all, its members, both in your training on the mat, and in the friendship and camaraderie off it.

New membership forms for KAA

Following on from the above announcement, new and exisiting members of the dojo who wish to become members of the KAA need to download, print, and fill in the relevant forms.

These have been made availalbe on our Useful Info page, along with some guidelines. If you have any queries about the new system, speak to the class instructor, or to one of the other senior grades.

New Galleries page

Finally, we have some recent photos to put in a gallery!

After a fair bit of editing in Photoshop (making everyone slim and suntanned, with lovely white teeth... ), you can have a look at our first gallery. The selection of images is meant to show what an avergae class in our dojo looks like, and is aimed as much at newcomers, as it is at existing aikidoka. Hope you like it! (Thanks to James Bylett for the photos)

At the moment, we plan to make other ‘themed’ galleries - weapons practice, visiting teachers, perhaps "how to tie your belt", etc. If you have aikido photos from our dojo, or from a course somewhere else, pop a few good ones on a CD, and pass that on to Francis Rowland at class.

13 Jo Kata step-by-step visual guide

Those of you who come along to the weapons class (Sunday, 7.30 - 9.30 pm) will know that as we sometimes practice kata, or forms, with the jo (the long bit of wood!). There are solo and tow-person versions of the 13-step and 31-step jo kata, and amongst other things, these help you to develop your footwork, cooperation, and the coordination of both hands. All very important.

At a recent class, we were practicing the 13 jo kata. For those who want a visual prompt, have a look at our 13 jo kata step-by-step cheatsheet (PDF, 836kb), featuring Glyn Davies sensei.