The New York Aikikai

On December 19, I took a bus up to New York for the day to attend the New York Aikikai Christmas Seminar, an event where you will find many of the Shihans and rock stars of the Aikido world all under one roof. I was excited to see the very people I had read about and learned from online and in books. I met Claire Keller (Howcast Aikido videos) and Penny Bernath (Florida Aikikai) in the lobby area.
I attended four of the day’s six classes with Steve Pimsleur, Yoshimitsu Yamada, Donovan Waite, and Harvey Konigsberg. I was particularly impressed that three of these class teachers all took the time to walk over and teach me the fine details of the techniques they taught (Pimsleur with Kokyunage, Waite with Shihonage, and Konigsberg with Tenchinage). Big kudos to all the teachers who taught while they were practicing, too. The venerable T.K. Lee (Aikido of Houston), a direct student of Yamada Sensei, was always teaching someone in the round-​robin line I was a part of. He taught me something new in Kokyuho. These one-​hour classes flew by quickly as we paired up individually and in groups to practice, sometimes in rapid succession.
Some of the classes had well over 100 people in a hall designed for half that many. The dan test followed the classes. Senseis Yamada and Pimsleur were the judges. In the shodan (1^st dan) test, groups of four stood in front of the judges and were asked to demonstrate everything they knew. Every student was then asked to demonstrate their knowledge in a four-​on-​one randori attack. The nidan (2^nd dan) test was a lot shorter, but more intense. The judges asked every student to demonstrate all of the knowledge they knew in rapid-​fire succession and then demonstrate their knowledge in a five-​on-​one randori attack.
The Christmas party followed. A smorgasboard of wonderful, savory dishes were enjoyed by all. On display were three kinds of beef roast, four pasta dishes in four different ethnic varieties, two kinds of chicken, two kinds of ham roasts, dumplings, veggie dishes, sandwiches, and an assortment of cookies, cakes, and pies. Yamada Sensei walked around in casualwear greeting everyone. Overall, the Christmas Seminar exceeded my expectations and I hope to make it a habit of attending it in upcoming years.
The training hall itself looks much larger in pictures and videos than in person, but it is still a very nice space to practice. Everything in the dojo is very well maintained. The women’s locker room has plenty of cubby space for your belongings and also has shower rooms, a very welcome touch. Gatorade and water is available in the lobby after your classes. There are couches in the lobby so your friends and family can sit and watch you practice. Check this place out!

The art of it is fantastic. The place is just fine and the instructors are good, but its the students… If you don’t understand something or if you are «expected» to know a technique etc the students will laugh or talk behind your back (its a shame since they are black belts and should know better than talk about those still in training). I saw it happening in front of my eyes, just constant laughter and it happened again in the locker room before my boyfriend stepped in. He heard them making fun of him just cause he forgot one technique’s name… and he isn’t a noobie. When he walked back in they were quiet. Such cowards. Its hard to be part of a dojo where you don’t feel at home or welcome. We are going to look else where like Hapkido instead. Too bad…

If you want to do Aikido this is the place. Yamada Shihan was a live in student of the founder.
There is nothing more to say.,

Love it. I stopped in more out of curiosity than anything else, but the staff AND the patrons are such a welcoming, friendly bunch that I decided to sign up.
I’m new to this sport so I don’t know, um, anything, so let’s consider this a review for other newbies and potential students. When I started, the instructor paired me with a black belt — there is a tangible spirit of equality here, and while that sounds intimidating, it’s incredibly low-​stress and rewarding to kind of get your own personal trainer for the day. it’s especially helpful since you get a new more experienced partner each class (or each time the instructor says to switch partners), so you learn from a variety of people, each of whom has unique tips and tricks.
I’ve been really impressed by the vibe here, as corny as that may sound. it’s really refreshing to encounter such a diverse, positive group of people who are enthusiastic enough about their sport to share their knowledge so freely. I found some people in the boxing community to lean more toward secrecy and competitiveness during training so this is like heaven. Heaven full of friendly people of all ages, colors, shaoes, and sizes who will throw you across the room. SO FREAKING AWESOME.
The facility itself is clean (OTHER SPORTS FACILITIES: LEARN FROM THIS PLEASE?), spacious, and comfortable. It’s a no-​frills place but who needs frills anyway? The women’s locker room is clean and there are tons of fresh towels. I say hooray.

The most famous and respected place to train in outside of Japan. Period. Quality martial instruction in all aspects of the art of Aikido.

Great place to learn aikido. The instructors well-​trained, and the place is clean. Nice changing room in showers (at least for the men; don’t know about the women’s side but expect it would be the same). It’s FIVE stars for the Aikido side.
I give ONE star only for how they keep track of records of your monthly payments, especially after you stop. They ask for checks in advance or credit card information so that you pay automatically for the monthly fees.
Beware if you pay by credit card. Any time you want to stop, you have to give one month’s advance notice, so if you need to stop suddenly, you’re still on the hook for another month’s payment. What is worse is that they have sloppy record keeping, so if you stop and don’t check your monthly statements, they can keep charging you and they won’t give back anything unless there is a written proof that you have stopped. I lost about $ 800 this way. Silly me for trusting their system.

Keep Calm — Aikido On.
I’ve learned so much within a very short period of time at the NY Aikikai.
The training here is truly world class — not that I’ve trained all over the world, but every class is taught by former Yamada students, Shihans and deadly masters, many of whom own their own dojos.
It’s the combined variety of high level instruction, 7 days a week, including from Yamada Sensei (when he’s not traveling), plus the opportunity to work out alongside various ranks and levels that offer such a range of learning.
Learn from a variety of excellent instructors 5 hours a day, seven days a week. Every class is like a master class. You have weapons training, randori (group attack), technique. The people, much like New Yorkers, are serious, but real.
It’s pretty amazing if you have the time and the financial freedom.
If you get laundry service, be forewarned, sometimes the clothes reak after you sweat, because they are not put in the dryer immediately, although it’s been happening less, I think due to the more conscientious rotation of uchi deshi that have recently been on site.

Gem of a studio. My son takes classes here and really enjoys them… Plus at 40 dollars a month for 8 classes — that might be the best deal in NYC!

great place to learn, martial arts.

The New York Aikikai is a great place to learn and practice the art of Aikido. Aikido is a Japanese martial art which was founded by Morihei Ueshiba or as called by aikidoka, (practitioners of aikido) O’Sensei.
What makes this particular dojo special in addition to is numerous instructors and it being open 7 days a week is the Chief Instructor, Yamada Sensei. Yamada Sensei was a direct student (uchi-​deshi) of O’Sensei and was so such for a good period of his life. Before the passing of Seiichi Sugano Sensei (he will always be loved by his fellow students), the New York Aikikai was one of the few dojos in the world who had 2 direct students teaching in one place.
Visitors are always welcome and can find a quite vibrant class filled with the energy of the instructor and fellow students as they practice this great martial art.
I suggest everybody to stop in sometime and take wonder in what is the power of aikido.