SW London beginner advice sort

Hiya,

I will soon be moving to live in the outskirts of
South West London, Richmond (UK). I will be working in
South - Central London, Victoria. I am looking for
advise / recommendations for an Aikido class to join
local to either of these areas. (I will have a full
tube pass, so can potentially travel to anywhere in
London, thought South West London would be easiest.
What qualifications / things should I look out for in
finding somewhere to learn at? Any recommendations of where to train that isn't too focused on competitions and exams?

I am interested in learning more about awareness of my
body and mind, to help me in the long run with my
dressage riding. I have relatively poor body
awareness; lack body control, tending to be tight and
stiff with a very busy mind. I have been advised by
two different trainers and an osteopath that I would
benefit from studying Aikido. I am not particularly
looking to learn self defence, except indirectly. Is
there a particular type or name of aikido that would
be most suited to what I want to work on?

Any help or advise very greatfully recieved. Can anyone recommend a good beginners book, to give an
overview?

Many thanks

Pip

Hi Pip. I am fairly new to Aikido also. Anyway, I can't give you a lot of advice in London as I am in the states, but I will give a couple of pointers. Anyway, you said you're not interested in competitions, so then you probably won't want to do Tomiki Aikido. I personally study Iwama style Aikido and enjoy it a lot. Here is a couple of schools that I found on the dojo search function for you.

Dojo Iwama Ryu Shuren Dojo (single)

Address: Tokei Martial Arts Club 28 Magdalen St.; London SE1 2EN
Country: United Kingdom
Phone: 0207 378 0944
Schedule: M 7-8pm (beginners), 8-10pm; TuTh 8-10pm; Sa 2-4pm (weapons)
E-mail: julianbever@ageofaiki.fsnet.co.uk
Style: Iwama
Affiliation: Aikikai



Dojo London Aikido Club (single)

Address: 60A Windus Road, Stoke Newington; London N16 6UP
Country: United Kingdom
Instructors: Andy Hathaway
Phone: 081-806 3219
E-mail: iwama@londonaikido.demon.co.uk
URL: http://www.londonaikido.demon.co.uk
Style: Iwama

Hi Pip,
I would like you to consider Ki Aikido. I've been at it since July of last year.
The emphasis is on mind and body coordination. Up to now the Ki training and the application of mind and body coodination in aikido- I still find mind boggling. Anyway the site below contains five different dojo locations in the UK. Good Luck.

http://ki-aikido.net/KNK/KNKDirectory.html

Hi Pip,

There's a list of a fair few dojo's here in London - http://www.bab.org.uk/club_directory/county.html#LREF Hopefully you'll find something that suits you.

Hi Pip

I trained for four years at Teitokan (http://www.users.waitrose.com/~teitokan/) near Ham before moving to North London. There is a Bus service that runs from Richmond to the top of the road that the club is on. I still return about once a month and can't recommend the instructor, Peter Nowak (2nd Dan), enough. Please find all the details on the Website, give him a call he will be most pleased to discuss any concerns or questions you have.

- Adam

Hi Pip,

There is an Aikido club in Richmond itself, their homepage is here

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/laurenceb/

They don't list their affiliation so I think they are independant. The club sensei says "He was privileged to be taught personally by the greatest Japanese teacher, and the last personal student of the founder of Aikido", but neglects to mention who this was. From the description I would hazard a guess at Saito Sensei, but it is that, only a guess.

Reading the site does give me cause for thought, but that may just be me being an old sceptic, I certainly wouldn't put you off contacting them without further details.

I did by chance see them do a demonstration at a show in London some 8 or 10 years back, and I remember them. I don't remember it being a bad demo (my perspective on Aikido is now somewhat different, I'd have to view again to give a current opinion). I'm sure the flyer that came around at the time said they don't like people to drop by unannounced but were fine if people arranged in advance.

The worst you can do is call them and go look, you don't have to stay if you don't like what you see.

Regards

Bryan

Larry Cuvin wrote: Hi Pip, I would like you to consider Ki Aikido. I've been at it since July of last year. The emphasis is on mind and body coordination. Up to now the Ki training and the application of mind and body coodination in aikido- I still find mind boggling. Anyway the site below contains five different dojo locations in the UK. Good Luck. http://ki-aikido.net/KNK/KNKDirectory.html

Thank you Larry, that does sound like exactly what I am looking for. Sadly none of the five dojo locations listed are near London. I have emailed the UK section to see if they know of anywhere near London that has that type of Aikido.

Thanks

Pip

Bryan Bateman wrote: Hi Pip, There is an Aikido club in Richmond itself, their homepage is here http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/laurenceb/ . Reading the site does give me cause for thought, but that may just be me being an old sceptic, I certainly wouldn't put you off contacting them without further details. The worst you can do is call them and go look, you don't have to stay if you don't like what you see. Regards Bryan

Hiya Bryan,

Thanks for finding that. I have to say I find the tone on the website really offputting. But they are fairly local to where I will live; and probably worth a look.

Thanks

Pip

Adam Walsh wrote: Hi Pip I trained for four years at Teitokan (http://www.users.waitrose.com/~teitokan/) near Ham before moving to North London. There is a Bus service that runs from Richmond to the top of the road that the club is on. I still return about once a month and can't recommend the instructor, Peter Nowak (2nd Dan), enough. Please find all the details on the Website, give him a call he will be most pleased to discuss any concerns or questions you have. - Adam

Hiya Adam,

Thank you for the recommendation, having a personal recommendation is much appreciated. I actually went to school in Kingston not far from there, though I never came across the dojo (not that I was exactly looking). The timing of commuting out of Central London; and getting a bus from Richmond out to Ham for 7pm without going home first might be quite pressurised. Ham is not an immediately easy place to get to. Something to look into.

Many thanks

Pip

Hello Pip,

If you look at the British Aikido Board's Dojo directory (http://www.bab.org.uk/club_directory/county.html), you might find something convenient.

Best regards,

Pip,

Near Victoria are the UCL and SOAS dojos, these are good quality Aikikai dojos affiliate to the UKA. Both are friendly and reasonably priced.

I've just moved from the UK to the states so I guess it all balances out!

Good luck

Mark

Um, Mark I think you meant "Euston" not "Victoria". Next time I see you, you'll probably be mispronouncing "Leicester Square" too

Pip, those UCL and SOAS dojos (both UKA affiliated) are nicely central and close to a bunch of tube stations (just minutes from Russell Square, Warren Street or Euston stations) -- check out the respective websites:

Bloomsbury (UCL)
Airenjuku (SOAS)

oops! The peanut butter and jello sandwiches must have gone to my head

Pip,

If you want to try Ki Aikido, there is a dojo in Acton (West London) which should be fairly easy to get to from both Victoria and Richmond.

We train every Thursday, and beginners are always welcome. You can find more details on the club's website.

(And now you've made me go and register on this forum, after several months of lurking... :-)

Regards,
Nils.

Jumps on bandwagon... we're also Ki aikido, one dojo at Somers town near Euston with our main dojo in Kilburn (NW London) details on the obligatory website .

I'd also check out Nils's site, looks nice (and one I hadn't come across before)

Ian Hurst wrote: I'd also check out Nils's site, looks nice (and one I hadn't come across before)

Ian,

I feel I should point out that it's not my site (or club), I just train there.

Regards,
Nils.

Hi Pip,

Seeing as though its a free-for-all with personal opinions, I'd point you to London Shodokan (Grr!).
http://www.shodokanaikido.co.uk/ (seems like the link may be currently down).

If that isn't up an running by the time you click it, try Chris Stamate, contact details at
http://www.bromley.org/sovdet.asp?sovcode=O02961.

London Shodokan has quality training, a very close link with our hombu dojo in Osaka, regular seminars by decent instructors, a good mix of guys and girls and a glorious history in world domination Plus everyone is really nice. Only thing that might trip you up is if you're not keen on a quiet bevvie after class...

Cheers,
Dave Findlay.

Oh, and something else you may want to give real thought to if in London and interested in aiki - check out the Systema group. I don't have contact details to hand, but you should be able to find something wiht a quick internet search.

Good luck,
Dave Findlay.

And, jumping on the bandwagon of suggesting dojos in NW London as well: Shin Mei Kan, www.londonaikikai.com. Five minutes' walk or less from Maida Vale tube station.