Aikido in New York/Martial Arts in New York

Martial arts in general represent a collection of sports with an impressive history and cultural background and are based on discipline. Everyone has heard about some of the most famous martial arts such as karate or judo. But, it is important to know that there are tens of techniques of self-defense, some more or less used than others, but just as interesting. A martial art with increasing popularity in the Twenty-First century is aikido, a rather new way of defense. It was created in the Twentieth century and is also called "The Way to Spiritual Harmony".

Martial arts have a lot to offer to those who perform them. They teach the participant about development of the mind, the body and spirit, and being able to protect themselves in a situation which could be dangerous. If you want to choose safety, there are many clubs or organizations where you can learn aikido for low fees and from experienced teachers, sensei.

The martial art created by Morihei Usehiba is based on the principle of neutralizing attacks by using dynamic movements of the body, therefore allowing you to fight more opponents at the same time.

Aikido teaches:

• you how to fall and not hurt yourself.
• you how to concentrate.
• you how to be a good fighter without being necessarily strong.

As far as the mind is concerned, aikido lessons teach you how to handle pressure and relax in difficult situations. Usually, this martial art uses knives, short staffs, wooden swords and sometimes fire arms in training sessions.

Aikido Uniform

When it comes to aikido ranks, there are belts just as in all martial arts. In this case, an aikido practitioner can usually have a white or black belt, but there are also organizations which also attribute belts in other colors. These belts become part of the practitioner's uniform. The uniform consists of regular trousers and a sort of jacket, either as in karate or as in judo, which the practitioner wraps around his body and ties with the belt. Tops specific to aikido have shorter sleeves than the regular ones.

In the United States, the Aikido Federation (USAF) was founded in 1976, in parallel with the International one. Today, its main figure is Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan. The USAF is comprised of 110 aikido clubs or organizations and four regions: KANAI in the East, TOHEI in the Midwest, CHIBA in the West and Hawaii.

If you are thinking about taking lessons in aikido, these are some of the best aikido organizations in New York: Aikido Arts; Aikido of Manhattan under the direction of Juba Nour Sensei; Bond Street Dojo under the direction of Chris Jordan and Paul Kang; Kokushi Budo Institute; New York Aikido Club; New York Aikikai; New York Yoshinkan Aikido or Shin Budo Kai.

The New York Aikikai is the headquarters of the United States Aikido Federation (USAF) as well as a dojo with experienced instructors. Your selection of a dojo from above the list will provide you with the instruction you need. All you have to do is to concentrate...and make up your mind!

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