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Michael Friedl Shihan Seminar

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Denver Aikikai is so pleased to welcome back Michael Friedl Shihan for a winter seminar and dan testing. Everyone is welcome to join us Friday December 1 and Saturday December 2 for this special seminar.

Michael Friedl Shihan (7th Dan) is founder and chief instructor of Aikido of Ashland. He is Division Head for Division 2 of the California Aikido Association. He is also a previous President of the California Aikido Association.

Friedl Shihan began his Aikido training in 1972 under Clyde Takeguchi Shihan. He became uchi deshi for Takeguchi Sensei from 1975-1977. He was also uchi deshi for Saito Shihan in Iwama, Japan from 1981-1983. In Iwama he studied weapons intensely and the Iwama style of weapons remains a strong influence in his practice. In 1978, Friedl Shihan established a dojo in Burlington, Vermont. He moved to Ashland, Oregon in 1979 and started a small aikido club. He returned to Ashland in 1986 and started a dojo at the Ashland YMCA in 1987. In July of 1994 Aikido of Ashland opened its doors to dojo members.

Friedl Shihan affiliated with Frank Doran Shihan in 1979 and has been a student of his since that time.

Download the flyer here

Register here:

Michael Friedl Seminar Options

Edgar Johansson Seminar!

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Edgar Johansson Aikido Sensei

Please join us for a very special seminar with Denver Aikikai Dojo Cho Edgar Sensei November 17-19 2023, and support our dojo’s upcoming relocation expenses.

Register now at the bottom of this page!

Edgar Johansson Sensei, Godan, has been the founder and Dojo Cho of Denver Aikikai for 18 years. His dedication to his students and to his Senseis can be felt in each class and he has proudly brought many students to Dan ranks over the years. Within over 30 years of intense training and study of Aikido, Edgar Sensei devoted himself to learn from some of the most renowned Senseis in the US and Japan. While he focuses on teaching the materials his students need to know, he has deep insights of Aikido principles and how to pass them on through basics. 

Edgar Sensei has been the founder of the Aikido Summit event in Colorado since 2000. This very special event brings the local Aikido community together once a year and reminds us that Aikido is one big family. This vision was dear to O’Sensei and we should keep it moving forward.

The proceeds from this seminar will contribute to moving expenses to bring our Dojo to a new location. On this theme, the seminar will be held in 3 different places: Friday in Boulder at One Dojo, Saturday in Denver at Denver Aikido (current location) and Sunday at a Dojo in Parker.

Download the seminar flyer here!

Details:

November 17-19, 2023
3 days, 3 locations!

Friday November 17 at One Dojo
6:30-8:30pm
Address: 3005 Sterling Cir Suite 150 Boulder CO 80301

Saturday November 18 at Denver Aikikai
10:30-11:30am basics
11:45am-1pm & 2:30-4:30pm
Address: 1592 S Broadway Denver CO 80210
6pm party TBD

Sunday November 19 at Akaishi Dojo
10am-1pm
Address: 6588 Ponderosa Dr Parker CO 80138

Price:

$90 before October 15, $100 at the door for the whole weekend OR
$25 Friday, $50 Saturday, $35 Sunday

Student? Special rates available at the door: $50 for the whole seminar, 50% off each class.

Questions?

Email denveraikikai@gmail.com

We want to make this seminar accessible to as many people as possible and we want to inspire our Dojo community with different Dojo settings so we can build our new space as best as it can get.

We hope you will come join us for all or part of this exciting weekend!

Online registration is closed but please come and register at the door for any days you’d like.

Friday Evening Classes at the Summit

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The 20th Anniversary Aikido Summit is just over 2 weeks away and we can’t wait to train with you all!

We have an amazing line-up of instructors for a very full and fun Saturday (see all details and register here!), and are also adding some bonus training on Friday evening. We will be celebrating and featuring some of our own Denver Aikikai instructors, 3 wonderful women who will each teach a half hour class between 6:30-8pm at our dojo, 1592 S Broadway in Denver.

Evolène Prémillieu, yondan
Kathy Aguilar-Downing, yondan
Gaia Marrs, nidan

There is no official charge for these classes, but donations will be accepted. Anyone who wants to is welcome to join us in going out to dinner afterwards. There is no need to register – just come on over to the dojo starting around 6pm on Friday September 30th and join us! There will be no group warm-ups so please get on the mat and warm yourself up prior to the 6:30 start time.

We look forward to seeing you!

Aikido Summit is just around the corner!

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We are finally doing it. The 20th anniversary Aikido Summit, originally scheduled for March 2020, is happening on October 1st, 2022. This full day event will have 7 wonderful instructors from 5 distinct lineages. Lunch is included for those who pre-register, as is a baseball cap, and everyone is invited to the potluck party afterwards.

There will be an additional 1.5 hours of training offered at Denver Aikikai the evening before for those who would like to join us. For details click here.

Commemorative fleece vests will also be for sale at the event. Winter is coming!

Location: Denver Buddhist Temple, 1947 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80202
Date: Saturday October 1st, 2022
Time: 8:30am-4:30pm, party to follow
*registration begins at 8am

Instructors:
Seiji Tanaka, 8th dan, Hyland Hill Tomiki Aikido
Kei Izawa, 7th dan, Aikikai Tanshinjuku
Ron Abo, 6th dan, Denver Buddhist Temple Aikido
Eugene Lee, 6th dan, Aikido Shobukan
Edgar Johansson, 5th dan, Denver Aikikai
Adrianne Wonnacott, 5th dan, Aikido West
Abel Villacorta, 4th dan, Boulder Ki Aikido

Cost/Registration:
$90 pre-registration up until September 21st, $100 at the door
*only registration prior to Sept 21st includes lunch and a baseball cap*

Pre-registration for this event is now closed. Please bring $100 cash or check to the door the day of the event.

Tentative schedule:

8am-8:30am: Registration
8:30am-8:45am: Guided warm-ups
8:45am-9:45am: Villacorta Sensei
9:45-9:55am: BREAK
9:55am-10:55am: Izawa Sensei
10:55am-11:05am: BREAK
11:05am-12:15pm: Tanaka Sensei/Abo Sensei
12:15pm-1:15pm: LUNCH
1:15pm-2:15pm: Wonnacott Sensei
2:15pm-2:25pm: BREAK
2:25pm-3:25pm: Johansson Sensei
3:25pm-3:35pm: BREAK
3:35pm-4:35pm: Lee Sensei

6pm: Potluck dinner

Denver Aikikai began hosting the Aikido Summit in 2001 and it has continued as a much cherished event. Previous instructors include Kei Izawa, Seiji Tanaka, Cindy Hayashi, Toby Threadgill, Hiroshi Ikeda, Kaizen Taki, Tres Hofmeister, Kimberly Richardson, and more.

The 20th anniversary summit is finally happening on October 1st, 2022!

Click here for more information and to register.

Aikido Summit 20th Anniversary Event

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Please save the date of October 1st, 2022 for the long-anticipated 20th Aikido Summit workshop!

Plan on a full day of training followed by a fun social event!

Final instructor lineup is still being determined, and will include amazing teachers from multiple lineages.

Registration

Deposits received for the original dates in March 2020 will be honored.
More details on cost and registration coming soon!

Location

The Denver Buddhist Temple is located at 1947 Lawrence (corner of 20th & Lawrence). Please bring your weapons.

2020 Aikido Summit Postponed

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Update 3/20/2021:

Save the date! September 11, 2021. We look forward to hosting the summit and will honor registrations that have already paid for the event. Stay tuned for more to come.

Update 3/19/2020:

We are working with our incredible lineup of instructors and the Denver Buddhist Temple to identify an alternate weekend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Aikido Summit and will announce the new date as soon as possible.

Refunds are available by request; for those of you who have already registered and are willing to keep your registration for the future dates, we greatly appreciate that and we are working to arrange a bonus training session in recognition of the disruption this has caused. If not, we fully understand given the current situation, so please contact us here or at denveraikikai@comcast.com.

Update 3/16/2020:

In light of the recent developments with COVID-19 and the ban on large group gatherings, we have no choice but to postpone the 20th Aikido Summit, March 27 & 28, 2020 at the Denver Buddhist Temple.  We are working with all the wonderful instructors and the Denver Buddhist Temple to identify the best possible dates to reschedule the Summit. Denver Aikikai will continue to do its utmost to provide you with a safe, secure and successful Aikido Summit at the earliest date possible.  We appreciate your patience during these unprecedented times created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We understand that you may also have several questions for us.  We need some time to create solutions and develop our plan for moving forward. We will gladly share those details with you as soon as we have them. Please watch this page or connect with us on Facebook for those details.

Be safe and take care. We look forward to seeing you at the 20th Aikido Summit when we reconvene later this year. 

Denver Aikikai

Denver Aikido Summit 20th Anniversary – TBD Spring 2022

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Due to rising concerns about the Delta variant in our community, we are sadly postponing the 20th Anniversary seminar once again. We are hoping the world will be in a place where we can host this event in late March or early April of 2022. Stay tuned!

Final instructor lineup is still being determined, but will include some or all of the following (the original list from 2020):

  • Laurie Nusbaum Sensei – Boulder Aikikai
  • Tres Hofmeister Sensei – Boulder Aikikai
  • Cyndy Hayashi Sensei – Aikido West
  • Susan Chandler Sensei – Denver Ki Aikido
  • Abel Villacorta Sensei – Boulder Ki Aikido
  • Russ Smith Sensei – Rocky Mountain Ki Society
  • Kei Izawa Sensei – Aikikai Tanshinjuku
  • Ron Abo Sensei – DBT Aikido
  • Mike Jones Sensei – Roaring Fork Aikikai
  • Edgar Johansson Sensei – Denver Aikikai
  • Kimberly Richardson Sensei – Two Cranes Aikido
  • Hiroshi Ikeda Sensei – Boulder Aikikai

Registration

Deposits received for the original dates in March 2020 will be honored.
More details on cost and registration coming soon.

Location

The Denver Buddhist Temple is located at 1947 Lawrence (corner of 20th & Lawrence). Please bring your weapons.