Class schedule
The Greater Hartford Aikikai holds three aikido classes a week in Manchester, Connecticut, about fifteen minutes east of Hartford. Every class is open to beginners and to visitors who would like to watch.
All classes mix ranks, so newer students practice alongside senior students and black belts rather than being separated into a beginners' group. Classes run ninety minutes. Arrive about ten minutes early for your first one.
- Tuesday
- 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
- Thursday
- 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
- Saturday
- 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
What happens in a class
Practice opens with warm-ups and rolling. The instructor then demonstrates a technique with a senior student and explains it, and everyone pairs off to practice.
One partner is the uke, who attacks and receives the technique; the other is the nage, who receives the attack and applies it. The nage repeats the technique four times — twice on each side — and then the roles switch. After a few minutes the instructor shows another technique, and the class continues that way until the closing bow.
Training also includes work with the jō (staff), bokken (wooden sword) and tantō (knife).
Tuition
- Monthly membership, age 18 and upUnlimited classes
- $100
- Monthly membership, ages 15 to 17Unlimited classes
- $70
- Monthly membership, one class a week
- $50
- Academy of Martial Arts membersMonthly
- $45
- Mat feeCovers every class that day
- $20
There is no contract, no registration fee and no belt-testing fee beyond what the U.S. Aikido Federation charges for rank registration.
If you are not ready to commit to a month, the $20 mat fee lets you take any class, and it covers every class held that day.
Loose workout clothes are fine for your first several practices. A practice uniform (keiko gi) comes later, once you know you want to keep training — we can help you get one.
Where we train
The dojo is inside the Academy of Martial Arts on Tolland Turnpike in Manchester, with parking on site. We are a short drive from Hartford, East Hartford, Vernon, South Windsor, Glastonbury and Bolton.
Greater Hartford Aikikai
at the Academy of Martial Arts
1404 Tolland Turnpike
Manchester, CT 06042
860-256-5347
shimotengu@icloud.com
Come and watch first
You are welcome to sit and watch a whole class before deciding anything, and to talk with the instructors and students afterward. There is no obligation and nothing to sign.
Send a note through the form on our home page and we will tell you which class suits you best, or simply turn up ten minutes before one of the three class times above.