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[Kristi Taylor]

I am brand new to Aikido. Actually I have just been researching up till now, and am ready to start, but the closest dojo to my city is 3 hours away. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get started on my own that would be great. Hope everyone is enjoying the New Year.

[Jerry Miller]

Move or drive, but you need to get into a dojo.

[akiy]

Hi Kristi,

Welcome to the AikiWeb Forums.

Without a qualified instructor, I'd say that martial arts are very difficult if not impossible to learn. Books, videos, and such are to be used as auxiliary means of learning used in conjunction with regular training.

Hope that helps,

-- Jun

[Thomas Ambrose]

Welcome to the forums, as a newbie to aikido myself, I would echo the sentiments voiced so far that a good instructor is necessary for starting training. I am assuming you used the dojo search tool on this website. Try searching some of the bigger cities nearby you as well.

Is there a YMCA , University, or Community College not too far away? (I know nothing of Arizona geography.) Not everything always appears in the dojo-search of this web page. I live in Ypsilanti , Michigan and there are three dojos that exist, or at least have recently, and a few other options through various rec-centers, even though only two dojos show up in the search. Granted, the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area is probably quite different than Lake Havasu, but an investigation of these options is worth a try.

If there is a YMCA or a similar large recreation center, try giving it a call to see what martial arts programs it offers. I know that the YMCA near my city offers several martial arts classes, including aikido. It may not be a full-blown dojo, but you might be able to find some good instruction.

If there is a University or Community College, try calling their recreation centers and student organizations to find out if any aikido clubs exist. Often Universities will let you use their recreation facilities if you pay a small fee, and that might be enough to get access to club "sports." There are at least two aikido clubs at the universities in my area, but they are pretty big universities. At any rate, if there are any universities of community colleges close by, it is worth a try.

Finally, emailing one of the instructors at the dojo three hours away to ask if they know of any dojos or programs closer to you may be worth a shot.

None of these are certain to help you find a place to train, but they are certainly worth checking out and might give you a few ideas.

Best of luck!

thomas

[akiy]

WNot everything always appears in the dojo-search of this web page. I live in Ypsilanti , Michigan and there are three dojos that exist, or at least have recently, and a few other options through various rec-centers, even though only two dojos show up in the search.
In such cases, I (and a lot of other folks, I'm sure) would appreciate it if you could submit these dojo that you know of that are not in the AikiWeb Dojo Search Engine. Keeping up the Dojo Search Engine is a community effort, folks! Your effort keeps the data in there fresh and accurate.

You can submit new dojo details here: http://www.aikiweb.com/search/submit.html

Thanks,

-- Jun