Aikido

What is Aikido

Japanese Martial Arts focus on blending the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attacker for self-defence. We don’t fight in Aikido, but we learn how to protect ourselves on the street and convert opponent’s power and momentum into our power and techniques. So, it is practical, and we have grading to test our quality of techniques.

What we do

Any member of the Durham Students Union is welcome to join the Durham University Aikido Society. No experience is necessary, and it’s open to people of all different abilities. We accept new members at any time, not just at the start of the year (so don’t worry if you miss us at the Freshers Fair!). Even if you have a casual interest in Aikido, we recommend coming to one of the classes to give it a go. You can contact the Aikido Society in advance, or just turn up to one of the classes and take it from there. It really is for anybody, and there are so many benefits to be had from training with Durham University Aikido.

We teach traditional aikido self-defense techniques and exercises in a variety of ways, from classical hand-to-hand attacks to exercises with weapons. The weapons we use are the katana (samurai sword) or bokken (wooden version), jo (4ft staff) and tanto (knife). Though the sword and jo are not the preferred weapons of attackers these days these classical weapons can be related to everyday items such as club, bats or bottles; the methods are the same. The weapons exercise also leads to a greater understanding of hand-to-hand techniques.