Aikido-Shin Budo Kai of Atlanta

I have been a student in this school for several years now, and it is wonderful. The class is always challenging and engaging, Sense and the other instructors are supportive and helpful, and I have learned a lot about aikido. There are a lot of great things to say about the school and our study of aikido, but here are a few that I think would be particularly important to someone considering the school (I assume this is the reason you are reading this):
1. All of the students in the class are good people. The marital arts commonly attracts «that guy» to class who feels the need to hurt others to show how tough he is or some similar crazy nonsense. We work hard at the art and our study, but we all have jobs and families and obligations, so there is no tolerance of the That Guy mentality or behavior that will likely cause injury.
2. From the beginning, new students are given high quality instruction from the advanced students and instructors. There is no beginners class where you have to pay your dues so to speak and if you work hard and stay interested, you can join the «real» class. There is only one class and all students, from first-​class beginners to whatever-​degree black belt, get taught and challenged at their own level.
3. The school is more interested in your time and study of the art than your money. The fees for class are some of the lowest around and there are no testing fees or big markups on uniforms or gear you buy from the school. I am not knocking schools or instructors that teach for a living, but to me there is a very different vibe in a school that has the luxury of not worrying about income or the running of a business as part of the school.
4. The study of aikido is challenging both physically and mentally. This is one think I like about it over other arts. It is not just learning to do this technique or that. I have been in the school 5 years and I can still see many years of challenge and growth ahead of me.
5. Being a Japanese martial art, some schools really embrace the formality, tradition, and ritual of the arts. I understand and respect this, but I am glad that our school does not get as deep in this. We are generally respectful, bow in and out, and honor certain traditions, but we definitely dont get wrapped around the axle on it either. It is a good balance that shows respect but allows the students to focus on training and not on whether they bowed properly or if their gi is on just right or whatever.
6. For me personally, I have greatly improved my balance and coordination. In addition to the physical benefits, the centering and basic concepts of interaction and combat have helped me in very interesting ways in business (forget verbal judo, verbal aikido is where it’s at lol)
As I said there are many many other positives about the class and school. If you are interested, come by and check out a class and see if it is for you.