Last weekend, I was in Balerna, Switzerland, for a seminar with Shihan Maurizio Volpe and Shihan Bernhard Boll. It was a very enjoyable weekend of training, with plenty to take away and think about.

We were made very welcome by everyone at Aikido Balerna, and the hospitality was excellent. We also enjoyed some very good food over the course of the weekend.

Thanks again to Aikido Balerna for hosting such an enjoyable seminar: https://aikido-balerna.ch/index_en.html

I look forward to training with everyone again soon.

We have moved our City dojo to a brand new location right in the heart of the City of London.

Every Tuesday, from 6:30pm-8:30pm we will be running sessions at the Portsoken Community Centre . Located just a short walk from Aldgate and Tower Hill stations, this bright, modern community space is the perfect environment to step off the busy streets, leave the workday behind, and step onto the mat.

If you live or work in the City and have been waiting for the right time to start—or if you are an experienced practitioner looking to explore our new dojo—we would love to hear from you.

Head over to our Contact Page to register your interest, ask any questions, and ensure you are the first to know exactly when the mats go down.

Earlier this week, I was in Velebit Croatia, enjoying the hospitality of the Aikido Drustvo Zagreb for their summer camp. It was a great experience with a bit of trekking, sea and partying along with a lot of Aikido.

Thanks everybody for making it a great few days together and I hope to see you all soon.

Last weekend, I traveled to the Swedish countryside in Mårdaklev to join Shihan Philip Burgess for the inauguration of the new Shuutoku Dojo. It was a fantastic weekend of training, deeply rooted in the principles of mind and body unification. A special thank you to Michael and Sueko Yamanishi Lebens for being incredibly gracious hosts and for cultivating such an excellent environment for the art. I look forward to returning to train together in the years ahead.”

Last weekend, I was in Gorizia, attending a weekend seminar taught by Maurizio Volpe Sensei and Micro Angeletti Sensei. It was good to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones on the course. Thanks Alberto Corrado for organising a great seminar and and I hope to see everyone again in Velebit in August.

The British Ki Society YouTube Channel is live. We have been recording some videos for the channel to promote Aikido.

https://www.youtube.com/@BritishKiSociety

Here is the one of the videos we have just uploaded.

Both of the club’s instructors were promoted in this years Kagami Biraki 2026 Ki No Kenkyukai 2026

Jayesh Karadia was awarded Rokudan (6th Dan) and David Royle was awarded Godan (5th Dan) by Shihan Philip Burgess Kudan (9th Dan)

Between the 10th-12th October I enjoyed the kind hospitality of Jan Ericsson Sensei and the Enköping Ki-Aikido for the seminar with Mirco Angeletti Sensei

Thanks everyone who made it a wonderful weekend and I look forward to training with everyone again soon.

We have started to collect some memories on why club members started practising AIkido in the first place. These can be found here Why I started Aikido

These aren’t necessarily why we are still practising, rather I hope they give an insight into some of our initial thoughts and motivations.