Fort Worth Aikikai

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba, often referred to as O Sensei. It is a martial way that is both a system of self-defense and a path to peace and self-improvement.

Aikido has two basic tenets, each of which is grounded in rigorous, martial training. The first is a commitment to resolve conflicts by non-violent means whenever possible, and the second is a determination to improve oneself.

The word aikido is composed of three Japanese characters “ai”, “ki”, and “do”. These words roughly translate to “the way of harmonizing energy”. In purely physical terms the concept of harmonizing energy (aiki) means that an aikido practitioner blends with an attacker’s motion to redirect and neutralize the attack using a throw, joint lock, or pin (ideally without causing serious bodily injury to the attacker). The concept of aiki can be extended to situations beyond physical confrontations to develop a mindset dedicated to finding a peaceful resolution to conflict whenever possible.

The typical class is composed of some combination of the following activities: breathing exercises, warm-ups, footwork drills, falling practice, striking practice, and non-competitive partner practice to learn aikido techniques. Techniques include responses to unarmed attacks (grabs and strikes) as well as wooden weapons (tanto, bokken, and jo) performed by a single person or multiple people. 

Ashley Coles is the chief instructor at Fort Worth Aikikai. She holds the rank of shodan from the United States Aikido Federation (USAF). She began her aikido training in 2001.

Jesse O’Brien is the assistant instructor. He holds the rank of shodan from the USAF. He began his aikido training in 2005.