Aikido Yuishinkai Manchester

We've moved, folks!
We're in St Margaret's Centre, Chorlton (see bio for full address), 20:00-22:00 on Wednesday evenings; £7/session.

If you're thinking of coming along to a class now we're closer to Manchester again, we'd love to see you on the mat!

(We're not running bookings for the class as such, everyone is welcome, but please drop us a message if you're planning to join us for the first time so we can make sure you find us in the building!)

Classes are restarting at the University of Manchester Students Union Building (Dance Studio) for the semester!
* Saturday evenings, starting this week (20th January), 18:45-20:45
* No formal take-part demo is planned, each class will be planned based on who turns up
£4/class - your first class is free if you haven't trained with us before.

Hope to see you there!

Classes are resuming!

We’re basing these classes at the Partington dojo (address below), Wednesday evenings at 19:45. Classes are still £5 for 2 hours.

Face masks are required on the mat.

Partington dojo address:
Partington Old School Hall
Wood Lane
Partington
Manchester
M31 4NL

Some happy news: Maruyama sensei has granted Peter Kelly the rank of 10th Dan - more information below:

Make sure you are following Aikido Yuishinkai International on Facebook, or checking the website at www.aikidoyuishinkai.org, to get more information on what’s happening within the organisation.

Peter Kelly 10th dan - Aikido Yuishinkai On July 4, 2020, I granted the International Chief Instructor of Aikido Yuishinkai, Peter Kelly, the rank of 10th dan. In Japan, not just in Aikido, but in all martial arts, it is customary to grant high ranks, known as … Peter Kelly 10th dan Read More »

TL;DR: still no aikido yet. Stay tuned 😉

Longer version:
On Friday, the British Aikido Board announced that clubs could return to socially-distanced training (katas, meditation, breathing, exercises) as of the 15th August - but no contact training at this time.

There is an epic amount of paperwork involved in holding socially-distanced classes, and a whole raft of practical issues which can’t easily be resolved.

At this time, we are not intending to resume in-person classes in the immediate future. We will keep everyone posted with the plan for restarting classes, when we have one! 😅

~~~There is *NO CLASS* on Wednesday 18th March (or any Wednesday until further notice)~~~

We have received an email from the University of Manchester, advising that all society activities, events and socials are to be cancelled with immediate effect. We have discussed this and have decided that, at this time, this should include our Wednesday classes at the Catholic Chaplaincy.

The Partington dojo is currently still available, but the UK government has today issued advice that we are to avoid unnecessary social contact and gatherings. We are unlikely to run classes at Partington to replace those that would have run at the university, and will be making a decision about the seminar on the 28th soon.

Although aikido techniques are usually practiced with a partner, there are many parts that can be done on your own. Have a play, see what you can come up with - we will be posting some links on Wednesday to give you some ideas.

These are unusual times; look after yourself, in mind and body, and we will see you back on the mat when the madness calms down!

Sophie

The end of term is fast approaching! (Wait, where did this term go?!)

We have two Wednesday classes left (4th and 11th December), and Jon and Sarah are running a seminar this Saturday (7th December).

Last class of the term will be Friday 13th at Partington; Dave has given me free reign over this class and I have a Santa piñata which will be full of goodies for everyone, as well as many other delightfully bizarre things planned. I promise not to put sherbet lemons in there this year!

Please let me know if you want to come along to Partington so we can arrange transport (and also so I can buy a second piñata. I don’t think we can have too many piñatas).

It was great to see so many faces on the mat last night, both old and new!

Classes continue every Wednesday from 18:15-20:15 until the end of term 🙂

We have a venue! 🥳

Our classes this term will be in the Catholic Chaplaincy (opposite the UoM students union building) in the upstairs common room, from 18:15 until 20:15 on Wednesday evenings. Our first class will be Wednesday 2nd October. Each class costs £5, but your first class is free - so come along and try aikido for yourself! After 3 classes, we ask for a £12 membership fee paid to the club (not the SU), which provides you with insurance while training.

Our aikido classes are open to all students regardless of religion. The Chaplaincy’s common room has sufficient space for everyone to practice safely, and was recommended to us by the Students Union when they were unable to provide the UoM Aikido Society with a suitable space for us to train in. Please be mindful of other users of the Chaplaincy when entering or leaving the building, so that we do not disturb their activity.

As we are expecting a lot of people to turn up for our first class (both new and returning students), if you are not training in a gi (martial arts suit) please arrive dressed for class - see the guidance attached for suitable clothing. We do not expect new students to own a gi prior to their first class!

Our regular students have suggested a social in Kro bar after class, for everyone to get to know each other. These are lively occasions where alcohol is not required to have a good time, and are open to everyone. As it is advisable to book a table to ensure we have enough space to talk to each other, if you would like to join us please let us know in a comment or message by Tuesday 🙂

Good news: we tested a venue tonight and we like it!

Hold-your-horses news: we’re waiting for confirmation from the venue that we can have the space until at least Christmas, to give the classes some stability. Please keep an eye on the pages, we hope to be able to release full class details on Saturday (but might be Monday, depending on their office hours).

Bear with us, this hasn’t been an easy process and we’re as eager to get classes started as you guys!