Cambridge Aiki Dojo

When and where are the classes?

There are three classes per week, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evenings. All students are welcome at any class. If you don't have your own set of weapons yet, we can lend them to you during class, if required.

Where is the dojo?

In fact, Cambridge Aiki Dojo is spread across three locations! On Sunday evenings, we are at St Luke's Barn (Frenchs Road); on Tuesday evenings, the class is held at Kelsey Kerridge sports centre (Gonville Place); our Wednesday children's class and the Thursday evening (adults) class are both at Chesterton Sports Centre (Gilber Road).

How much does it cost to train?

(Fees from Sept 1st, 2010 (last change was in 2006!))

You may wish to become a member at Kelsey Kerridge. This will allow unlimited entry to the sports centre.

Entrance Prices (as of Oct 2007):

Entrance fees (non-members):
Adult Day Membership £1.40
Junior Day Membership (under 16's) £1.10

Membership fees:
Adults yearly: £52.50
Juniors (Under 16) yearly: £21.00
Family Membership - Mum, Dad plus any children under 16 - yearly £83.00
Students (full-time education at college or university) £40.00

 

Parking

For Kelsey Kerridge

There are several side streets with free parking after 5pm or 8pm (check the signs!). These include Gresham Rd and St. Paul's Rd.

Parking at Kelsey Kerridge is multistorey and you will have to pay to exit.

For St Lukes Barn

There is a free car park next to the Barn.

What is aikido like?

Exciting, demanding, challenging, stimulating, etc

Have a look at our About Aikido page to find out in a bit more detail.

What about all the Japanese words and phrases?

There is a lot of Japanese terminology used in aikido, but don't worry about it. It is easy to pick up the basics quite quickly. It is not necessary to understand Japanese in order to train in Aikido, but it does lend insight into the art itself.

Important words and phrases (with simplified english pronunciations in brackets) to know for your first class are:

• dojo (doh-joh) - the place of training
• tatami (ta-ta-mee) - the mats we train on (this originally refers to the grass mats common in Japan)
• Onegai shimasu (oh-neh-ga-shmas) - Please (... teach me or train with me). This is said by everyone at the beginning of class, and also when students pair up to train together
• sensei (sen-say) - teacher; the person giving the class
• O-Sensei (oh-sen-say) - "Great Teacher", how we refer to Morehei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido
• Domo arigato gozaimashita (doh-moh arri-gateau go-zy-mash-ta) - Thank you very much (for something completed). Said by everyone to the sensei at the end of a class

We also bow in class. Bow when you enter or leave the dojo. Bow when you go onto or leave the mat (with permission from the sensei!). Bow to the picture of O-Sensei as a sign of respect. We also bow to the sensei and other students out of respect. If in doubt... bow!

You can learn more in our glossary of terms and phrases, or by having a look at the Etiquette section of this site.

Komyokan Aikido Association (KAA) membership

In order to practice aikido in our club, you need to be able to prove that you are insured to do so. If you wish to join the club, you need to become a member of the Komyokan Aikido Association (KAA). This will also insure you for practice.

See http://www.bab.org.uk/insurance/insurance.asp

Details of the cost of membership are given on the forms (see section below).

Foreign / temporary aikidoka are very welcome to train with us without joining the KAA, but please make sure that you can provide some form of insurance certificate. If you are not sure about this, speak to the class instructor (sensei).

 

Membership forms

New members of the KAA or people who wish to renew should complete the Komyokan Aikido Association membership form.

For everyone's safety and well-being, new students taking out temporary membership or going directly to full membership, need to complete the medical form as well.

Payment

Please DO NOT make cheques payable to Komyokan Aikido Association... just bring your chequebook along with your completed forms, and the membership secretary (Stephen) will instruct you on the rest.

Mailing list

Apart from checking the updates on this website, probably the best way to keep up with the latest club developments and discussions is to join our mailing list, and receive announcements via email. Your email address will remain confidential, and the list is only used for communicating aikido issues.

It is free to join, and will allow you to stay in touch with students past and present. You will get the latest news about aikido courses and events, and it will allow you to organise sharing lifts and accomodation more easily.

How to subscribe

• Go to this http://www.teaparty.net/mailman/listinfo/Aiki and fill in the section entitled "Subscribing to Aiki"
• Click the "Subscribe" button
• You will then receive a confirmation email, which you need to respond to in order to be on the list

How to unsubscribe

If you are already subscribed to the mailing list and would like to unsubscribe, then visit this website and fill in the field at the very bottom next to the button "Unsubscribe or edit options" then click this button. On the following web page, check the tick-box labeled "Yes, I really want to unsubscribe" and then click on the button "Unsubscribe".

Club t-shirts, etc.

Talk to Matt about your polo shirt or rugby shirt needs... orders are sent off occasionally.