York Aikido - Past - Present - Future
York Aikido began on the 13th August 1990 with a 3 day course for juniors at Oakland's Sports Centre. The first instructor was Tish O'Brien who, from this course, began teaching juniors and seniors first at Ryedale Stadium and later at the newly completed Barbican Centre. The club remained at the Barbican for a number of years and instruction was continued by Ken MacIntosh and David Ward with senior classes only. Around 1998 Matt Houlton, 3rd Dan from Scott Albright's Kyogikan Aikido Club, came to York and now instructs alongside Ken MacIntosh. In late 2004 the Barbican closed its doors to all sports classes and we moved to All Saints School and now to York St John.
For me personally, being part of York Aikido Club has meant many things. The friends I have made through this club are from all walks of life, and training with them is a great priviledge. I have had the chance to train weekly in a friendly club environment and to train outside the club with some of the world's finest instructors. The benefits of training in Aikido are numerous, including increased fitness, self-confidence, self-defence and the chance to meet new people. York Aikido Club is an ideal place to train with a serious, yet friendly approach to the classes.
The club's usual format is an equal split between Kata (techniques) and Randori ho (free play methods). An emphasis is also placed where the two cross over and to practical application to self-defence. With new members of the club showing interest in competition, a new sports class has begun, with greater emphasis on Randori and fitness training. The ultimate goal of this is to develop a York Aikido team to compete nationally, and to assist in training those who wish to compete as part of the GB Shodokan Squad.
In my opinion, York Aikido Club is the ideal place to train in Shodokan Aikido. This exiting martial art with its graceful simplicity is perfect for people from all walks of life regardless of present fitness. On behalf of my club mates and me we look forward to welcoming all new members.
Rob Milliner, 1st Dan 29th June 2005