Aikido

Aikido is a living relationship, traditional yet modern, that meet the needs of our body and mind, soul and spirit. In an integral and evolutionary context, we blend the art of aikido with internal yoga, meditation and spiritual self-inquiry, with a directed and open dialogue. A non-violent and non-competitive Japanese martial art, aikido points to a non-dual relationship where conflict ceases and creativity comes alive.

As a spiritual discipline, aikido serves to awaken a larger sense of self, incorporating all facets of our human experience into one uniform perspective. Self-knowledge and expanded awareness, together with a curious heart, brings about a shared understanding with a shared aim, purpose and goal. Aikido Alive U.K. motivates each student to progress in their own pace towards greater freedom and deeper understanding.

Aikido Alive’s head teacher Bjorn Saw Sensei, 5 dan Aikikai, has one of the longest experience of traditional Iwama Takemusu Aikido in the U.K. having begun his aikido training in 1974 for Saito Sensei’s then representative in Europe, Takeji Tomita Shihan (7 dan), at Takemusu Aikido Scandinavia in Stockholm, Sweden. Bjorn Sensei then spent two and half years training under the late Morihiro Saito Shihan (9 dan) in Iwama, Japan between 1987 and 1993.