Hello from KC

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[JPatton]

Hey everyone!
My name is Jaime Patton. I trained in Shorin-Ryu for 1 1/2 years and am now looking for an Aikido school in Kansas City. If anyone knows of one let me know.

Thanks :)

[tedehara]

Welcome to AikiWeb. :)

You can give these guys a try:

Midland Ki Society - Kansas City
Vic Montgomery
9303 Johnson Drive
Shawnee Mission Kansas 66222
Tel: 913-362-7314
KCAikido@att.net

You can visit their website at:
http://www.kckiaikido.com/

[BC]

You can't go wrong if you train at the Kansas City Aikido School:

http://www.kcaikido.com/

[JPatton]

Thank you for the prompt replies. I visited the urls and they both look good. Do either of you have personal experience with these schools? And if so, would you mind telling me about them?

[senseimike]

If you ever feel like a road trip to the Omaha area get ahold of me... I have a school here and know of several others that would welcome you to train with them.

[JPatton]

Thanks for the offer Mike. I'll remember if I ever head that way. :)

[akiy]

Hi Jaime,

Welcome, and thank you for your introduction.

Here is my form letter when someone asks me to recommend a dojo. Hope it helps.

-- Jun

I can't give you a recommendation for any dojo in your area, but here are some suggestions to help you choose a dojo. Go visit all of the dojo in your area within a reasonable driving distance and observe a few classes at each of them. As aikido is not just something to be taken up and tossed away like some brief hobby, I think it's worth the time to do this -- especially if you're thinking about enrolling your child in a class, for instance. Never go by the "reputation" of a dojo alone.
Watch how the teacher interacts with his/her students. Watch how the students interact with their teacher. Watch how the students interact with each other. See if you feel comfortable with the way all of these interactions play out. It's often said that you can tell the quality of any kind of school by its students...
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Ask about the school's history and affiliation. Ask about the teacher's aikido history. Ask about the teacher's philosophy in doing aikido. See if any of their answers feels "different" than what you see being practiced and taught.
Do some research on aikido. Some good sites on the Internet include the Aikido FAQ <http://www.aikidofaq.com> and AikiWeb <http://www.aikiweb.com>.Basically, a good yardstick to use if to think if the dojo itself is some place you want to be practicing for the next five years, probably at least two to three times a week.

In any case, you may want to try using the AikiWeb Dojo Search Engineto look for a dojo in your area: http://www.aikiweb.com/search