When looking for an aikido school, the first step is to see how many are available in your area. Look for a nearby school that will allow you to observe a class. If you have a lot of options, go to as many as you can before making a decision. Check out the learning environment and see if they focus on the aspects of aikido that interest you the most, whether it’s self-defense, precision, or something else. You should observe how the teacher interacts with the students in general, and if you have the opportunity, speak with students to find out what they have to say about the quality of the instruction.
If you live in a city, there may be a dozen or more aikido schools nearby, but if you live off the beaten path, you may have to travel quite a distance to find one. Aikido is a popular martial art, but finding a good aikido school is more difficult than finding a good karate or tae kwon do school. Once you’ve found a school that’s convenient for you, check online to see if there are any comments about the school on message boards or other martial arts community websites. On the Internet, people are sometimes more open about these topics than they are in school.
If you live in an area with a lot of schools, you should learn as much as you can about the various teaching styles. Some forms of aikido are highly formalized, with highly scripted training sequences, and some aikido instructors include elements of free-play or sparring to help students learn to defend themselves with the techniques. Aikido is a grappling-based art that places a strong emphasis on disrupting balance, so instructors must be extremely precise when passing on information. You should pay attention to these issues and ask people about them when visiting different schools.
According to experts, some schools are unconcerned about providing high-quality education. There are some schools that place a greater emphasis on getting you into a long-term contract. It can be difficult to distinguish between good and bad aikido schools, and you may need to attend an aikido school for a while before you realize what you’re up against. As a precaution, some experts advise avoiding any aikido school that tries to lock you into a long-term contract.