Aikido'Ka

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You’re no longer as close to your children as before
You want to get off the couch, turn off the video games and get in shape
You want to be confident and be leaders of your community
You want to be safe and able to defend yourselves and, specifically, your kids able to handle bullies

Be part of a whole community – children, teens, parents, grandparents, single adults – training together to improve their lives.

The first lesson at Aikido’Ka is respect – self-respect, respect for family, respect for teachers, respect for everyone. Respect improves everything.

Aikido is the martial art of peace. As an Aikido'Ka student, you learn to resolve all disputes (physical or emotional) without becoming an attacker yourself. You move with an attack, blending your motions with the attacker. Your blending movements take the energy of the attack from the attacker, taking the fight out of the fighter. In this way, you work to inflict no harm. And your martial art is very effective: You can use Aikido to gently control an attacker through to devastatingly powerful responses.

Please imagine the following:
You’re a martial artist at Aikido’Ka. You don’t fight. You blend with conflict. In your training, you’re disciplined and train seriously. You also laugh and have fun. You’re physically fit. While self-defense and physical fitness are important to you, your greater purpose is developing the wisdom and energy to positively benefit society. You view conflict not really as a contest with others, but as an opportunity to improve yourself and overcome your true enemies – those within you.
The benefits of training at Aikido’Ka are for everyone – all ages. In fact, at Aikido’Ka all ages train together.

At Aikido'Ka, we throw a free birthday party for every new student. Apparently, our birthday parties are "awesome!"

Some students' comments about the benefits of training at Aikido'Ka:
"My son and I have been training at Aikido’Ka for about 2 months. . . . Some events at my son’s school involving bullying and harassment convinced me that he (and I) might benefit from Aikido. Aikido is much more than a martial art I discovered. It is a community of people who train together, it is physical conditioning and it is a path of personal development involving respect, kindness and service. We train [in a class with adults and youth] working together. While the work is serious and best efforts and attention are required, there is nevertheless a lot of smiling, laughter and affection shared among us. I’ve noticed a big change with my son already in his acts of respect, kindness and assuming household duties without having to be asked.
After he began training, a boy in my son’s class challenged him and taunted him, getting in his face and saying 'I can take you.'
"My son was quite new to Aikido then, so merely took a hanmi stance (a triangular, balanced stance with which we begin many of our movements), hands at his side, looked the boy in the eye and waited. The boy looked at him, seemed a bit confused and then just walked away. There haven’t been any more problems with this, or another boy, in his class. Nobody was hurt, nobody was shamed and the situation was neutralized. My son had found enthusiasm at a very early stage of his training. And I have the confidence that my son will be able to handle conflicts at school."

Here are some thoughts from a female member of Aikido'Ka:
"I am 63 and a cancer survivor. I find Aikido training to be perfect for me. Because Aikido means 'harmonizing with the flow of energy in the universe in a peaceful way', I get to practice and learn movements that keep my body nimble, flexible and strong, my brain exercised, my emotions calm and my soul happy. I love the kindness, respect and skill that the instructors have with all of us in our different levels and capacities. Training with a wide range of ages and skill makes my time on the mat always interesting, full of learning, a lot of fun, challenging, humbling, exciting and rewarding. I am so supported at every level at Aikido'Ka."
Here's a story from a male student:
"Aikido saved my life. Like most people, I have never been extremely aware of what is going on around me. Fortunately for me, two skills we train at Aikido'Ka are awareness and shortening our reaction times. No more than 3 months after I started training, I was driving on Highway 20. I was in the fast lane passing a car traveling much more slowly than me. As I passed the car, the driver suddenly veered into my lane! I had no warning at all that this was going to happen. The thing is that I noticed her start to move right away. And I was able to maneuver to avoid her and the oncoming cars. I couldn't believe that I noticed and responded to her so quickly. No way could I have done that before training at Aikido'Ka. There would have been a horrible mutli-car accident. And, by the way, I also lost about 30 pounds in that same 3 months of training!"
And from the Executive Director of the Food Bank after we did an emergency Food Drive on one day in Nevada City:
"The Food Bank of Nevada County is so appreciative of the can drive you held on our behalf. Did you know we received almost $2,500 in cash and over 1,600 pounds of non-perishable food donations thanks to your efforts? This was a big boost to us in a time when we were in dire distress.
Not only is your organization training peaceful warriors, but you are also contributing in immeasurable ways to the betterment of our community. Your gift helps us help the hungry, most of whom are working poor, unable to exist on minimum wage jobs.
It is with heartfelt thanks that we let you know how much your kindness resonates not only with us, but with the less fortunate as well.
We are blessed to live in a community where people such as you exist."