The Future of Aikido is Inclusive

Join Our Community

We live in challenging times, but now more than ever, we need a personal practice that allows us to feel vital in our bodies and connected to a community. 

Join Seattle Aikikai and choose a type of practice that feels right for you. 

NEW TO AIKIDO

Try a Free Class.

New members always welcome.

INDOORS

Thursday evening classes Held at Aikido Seattle Dojo. (Vax & mask required.)

OUTDOORS

Saturday morning Aikido Intro Weapons Practice at Ship Canal Park. (no contact, mask-optional)

          “Everyone has a spirit that can be refined,
          a body that can be trained in some manner,
          a suitable path to follow.”    -O Sensei (founder of Aikido)

The Future of Aikido is Inclusive

We believe that a foundation of diversity — a wide range of experiences and perspectives — greatly enriches, and is necessary to the practice of Aikido. We recognize that dojos can reflect the inherent inequity in our society and all members come with implicit bias. Cultural understanding and humility in the delivery of accessible, inclusive programming is a core value of our dojo. Black. Lives. Matter. Until the actions of individuals and society demonstrate this to be true, we need to recommit ourselves to this pledge every day.  MORE

About Aikido

"To injure an opponent is to injure yourself. To control aggression without inflicting injury is the Art of Peace."
– Morihei Ueshiba

Aikido is a modern martial art developed in the late 1920s by Morihei Ueshiba, known as O Sensei (“Great Teacher”). Translated, Aikido (合気道) means "the way of harmonizing with energy." O Sensei realized that winning at the expense of another's defeat was not a victory. Aikido blends with an attack, using timing and momentum. The attacker's momentum is redirected or evaded, leading into into a throw or pin.  In this way, the aggressor's physical safety is maintained, and they learn that they can only harm themselves. Aikido has no sparring or competition.

In a relentlessly fast-paced world, Aikido provides a place where you can practice mindfulness, develop mental and physical strength, and flexibility. Aikido boosts concentration, learning capability, and leadership skills.

Community

Seattle Aikikai is fortunate to have a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes everyone with the desire to practice. Aikido requires commitment and discipline, but our members will challenge you to be your best, and will do all we can to support your practice. Our local aikido community is part of a larger community, in the Pacific Northwest and Internationally. The Aikido family can be found in every corner of the globe, and our members often travel to seminars in the U.S. and abroad, including Japan, Spain, and more. 

"As a longtime Aikido practitioner and a newcomer to Seattle, I knew the best way to get a feel for the city (and make new friends) would be to join a dojo. While there were a handful of choices, Seattle Aikikai really stood out for its warm welcome, acceptance of students coming from different training backgrounds, and its study of Aikido as both a physical and spiritual practice."
– Mahika R.

Instructors

"When you walk into a dojo you cross a threshold. You are walking into a space that is unique and special. You feel that you will find something in the dojo that was missing from your life — something that you have been looking for. Our job as instructors is to help facilitate that experience." – Malory Graham, Seattle Aikikai Founder

Dojo Cho

Daniel Top

Daniel, 3rd dan, started Aikido in 1995 in upstate New York under Irvin Faust sensei. He was attracted to the cooperative, non-competitive nature of the practice. He studied under a variety of visiting teachers from around the region, getting a glimpse of the breadth of the art. He moved to Seattle in 2003 and further broadened his influences studying at Seattle Aikikai (then Puget Sound Aikikai).

Daniel loves the endless challenge and variation of Aikido. He believes every class is an opportunity to learn, and every partner can teach you something.

Instructors

Dave Becker
Dave, 3rd dan Shidoin, has been training for 36 years. He teaches adults and kids classes, but likes kids classes the best. He saw a demonstration of Aikido by O’Sensei when he was in high school, and when his doctor advised him to pick up exercise, he decided to start training. He has been training ever since. Off the mat, Dave is a salesman. He says that he applies what he has learned in Aikido daily in his interactions with his customers.
Faith Lumsden

Faith, 3rd dan, has been training for 31 years and has trained with Graham Sensei for nearly 30 years. She has been teaching all levels including weapons work for more than 15 years. Faith has a day job working for the City of Seattle doing code enforcement, or as she puts it, “solving problems in your neighborhood.” She loves the clarity and precision required in aikido weapons techniques, and loves helping students embody the essence of weapons work in their open hand practices.

John Peng

John Peng, 4th Dan Aikikai, began training in a variety of “striking” martial arts as an undergraduate student at UCLA in 1990. He found Aikido while attending medical school in Albany, New York in 1995, and happily gave up hitting people for what he felt was a more interesting and life-applicable study.

He has been training Aikido in Seattle since 1997, and is a direct student of Jan Nevelius Shihan, 7th Dan Aikikai. His Aikido style follows the lineage of O’Sensei to Seigo Yamaguchi Shihan to Seishiro Endo Shihan to Jan Nevelius Shihan.

To be soft but sharp, assertive but not against, attentive without judgement, and joyful with intention.

Off the mat, he uses Aikido in daily life while practicing outpatient primary care internal medicine in Lynnwood, Washington.

Our instructors are certified in first aid, CPR, and AED through the Cascade Training Center.

Founder

 

Malory Graham Sensei  founded Seattle Aikikai in 1997.  She started training in 1988 with Paul Sylvain Sensei and  received her 6th Dan from Yamada Shihan in 2014. She continues to develop her own training with Yoko Okamoto and Chris Mulligan Senseis of Aikido Kyoto.  Along with teaching aikido and yoga, she has had tandem careers as a filmmaker and non-profit Executive Director. She has made films to promote women in aikido and has been deeply committed to the social justice/youth development field.

Emeritus

Roy May

Roy taught the morning classes at Seattle Aikikai with unmatched consistency and precision. His tireless practice inspired many early risers, and his influence is clearly visible in many of our senior students today.

Amanda Page

Amanda, 2nd dan, has been training for 26 years and teaching for three years. In her day job, she is a Product UI Visual Designer at a software company. She believes that Aikido is a moving, fluid art, with many martial opportunities and possibilities, and loves to help people discover the joy of movement.

Inclusivity

Seattle Aikikai is fortunate to have a diverse and inclusive community that welcomes everyone with the desire to practice. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination or harassment of any kind. We take feedback seriously, and any given will remain confidential.

We believe that diversity greatly enriches the practice of Aikido. Its success as a martial art depends upon a foundation of a wide range of experiences and perspectives. We are committed to the inclusion and support of all members regardless of race, color, age, culture, ability, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliation, veteran status, citizenship, or socioeconomic status.

We recognize that dojos can reflect the inherent inequity in our society and all members come with implicit bias. Cultural understanding and humility in the delivery of accessible, inclusive programming is a core value of our dojo.

We support diversity in our membership by:

  • Practicing non-discrimination at home and at seminars
  • Encouraging awareness of appropriate, welcoming language
  • Working to reduce physical, social, and economic barriers to practice
  • Reducing barriers to participation in classes and events by providing scholarships

Seattle Aikikai is a 501(c)3 non-profit dojo, and we provide training for anyone though a scholarship program funded by tax-deductible donations.

Proudly powered by WordPress