Erik

Of the six relatively local aikido schools: one is run out of a fitness center; one is run on a basketball court; and one is run in a shared space with a TKD dojo. The local fitness centers, the one's I can think of immediately, all have some sort of martial arts program associated with them. A local Karate instructor taught for years out of the YMCA facility.

I guess those wouldn't be real schools or that somehow they differ from a gym although I doubt any of you could make a reasonable argument for that.

From what I've seen of these places, the Karate instructor, by far, ran the tightest ship although one of the aikido dojos, which has it's own place, is run very well. The Karate instructor was professional, had a good spirit, knew his stuff and he handled all the financials, marketing and promotion of his school. Of course this is a small sample.