Aikido in Grand Rapids, West Michigan
What is Aikido?
If you’re looking for martial arts classes in West Michigan (Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Grandville, Kentwood Areas), much like the airline industry, you have several choices. While some may claim to be the “best” or offer everything for the aspiring martial artist, it simply isn’t true. To be right up front and honest with you, we recognize we may not be the right martial arts school or offer the right martial arts for you or your family. It’s for that reason that you can try out all of our classes completely FREE for a whole month before deciding if we’re the right martial arts school for you.
Today, Aikido is a powerful and dynamic Martial Art used internationally by military and law enforcement agencies worldwide. It is also the Martial Art of choice for millions of men, women, children, medical personnel and security organizations as more than simply an extremely effective means of self-defense but also as a very effective “way” of internal training and development. Aikido in West Michigan, and very prominently in the Grand Rapids area, has been defined by training at the Toyoda Center through the highest quality instruction by renowned instructor Blaine A. Feyen, a very unique live-in student (uchideshi) program, and one of the highest rated instructor training programs in the country. Fashioned after Mr. Feyen’s instructor, Shihan Fumio Toyoda, the Toyoda Aikido and MMA Center is one of the finest martial arts schools in the country.
Since Aikido emphasizes Universal Principles through the techniques and practice students leave classes with greater understanding of themselves, the world we live in, the problems we all encounter and, most importantly, ways to resolve the problems and create effective solutions. Different than Mixed Martial Arts, or MMA, classes, the Aikido program is strictly defensive with no competitive aspect to train for.
“What Will I Learn In An Aikido Self Defence Class at the Grand Rapids location?”
Students in the 4-week introductory course at the Toyoda Center Grand Rapids location will gain a solid foundation for future study. Aspects covered will be the philosophy and principles of Aikido, coordination and breathing exercises, rolling and falling exercises, punching, and basic Aikido defensive theory and techniques.
Your first class will be an introduction to the basic stretching and warm-up exercises we do in almost every class. We’ll walk you through some fun body movement exercises to begin “re-connecting” your mind and body and then start you off on how to “get to the ground” safely and effectively; in essence, learning how to fall.
“Why Do I Need To Learn How To Fall?”
When we are first born we have no references for up, down, left, right, standing, sitting, moving, or falling. As we grow we begin to establish “reference points” about these things based on our experiences. When you first began crawling you bumped your head on the coffee table and now had a reference point regarding pain, space, hard, soft, etc., and our awareness begins to expand.
As we grow taller, and further from the ground, we develop new references and awareness about falling that usually lead to fear of falling. We develop new ways of moving and stabilizing our bodies to insure we wont fall. If we do lose our balance we contort our bodies and throw our hands and arms out to “catch” the ground. This usually leads to some sort of injury and further fear of falling.
At the Toyoda Center Grand Rapids Aikido class, we always work on a “matted” floor system so it is safe and comfortable to practice. Since much of what we do in Aikido involves taking your partner to the mat with an Aikido technique so the very first thing we teach you is how to “remove the fear” of falling that you have developed over the years. In addition, we give you very specific techniques that will allow you to fall anywhere without injury.
After we teach you how to fall we begin introducing some fun and exciting Aikido self defence techniques that allow you to control any and every situation with very little force and struggle.
“How Does Aikido Teach Me To Control Any Situation Without Struggle?”
The foundational principle of Aikido as taught at the Toyoda Center Grand Rapids location is “blending”. Blending, or harmonizing, with every situation is paramount to being “in control” of yourself and your surroundings. We emphasize this point through every technique, movement, exercise, and discussion. Even though we practice a Martial Art consisting of very effective self defense tactics that can inflict serious injury we are always practicing how to move “off the line of attack”, how to “blend with the attackers movements”, and how to stay “relaxed in your decisions and movements”.
This aspect of Aikido makes it perfectly suited for people of all shapes, sizes, genders, strength levels, and backgrounds.
Aikido in West Michigan has been ultimately defined by the Aikido taught at the Toyoda Center Grand Rapids location. Although there were a few small Aikido clubs in West Michigan prior to 1994, when the Toyoda Center was founded by Blaine Feyen, there were no professional instructors or dojo teaching traditional Aikido so effectively as the program developed by Feyen Sensei after returning to Grand Rapids from several years of intense Aikido training as an uchideshi (live-in student) under the renowned Aikido master, Shihan Fumio Toyoda. Come in and experience how Aikido in West Michigan got its start and how quality Aikido instruction is defined in West Michigan. If you’re looking for self defense classes in West Michigan (Grand Rapids area), the Toyoda Center offers it all!
A Brief History of the Martial Art of Aikido
The Japanese word Aikido consists of three characters which can be translated as “the way of unity with the fundamental force of the universe.” Aikido is a true Budo or “Martial Way.” It has evolved in the historic tradition of Japanese warrior arts. It must be understood that studies in earnest Budo is more than a science of tactics and self-defense; it is a discipline for perfecting the spirit.
Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba, known to thousands of students of Aikido throughout the world as O-Sensei (Great Teacher). Even as a young man, Morihei Ueshiba was an extraordinary martial artist; a master of the sword, the staff, the spear, as well as the art of jiu-jitsu. But O-Sensei also had a strong spiritual drive, and brooded over the futility of a path based on victory over others. After many years of intense training he presented his own refined system to the world: AIKIDO!
“The secret of Aikido,” he wrote, “is to harmonize with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself.”
The founder of Aikido maintained that Aikido is a “work of love”, a path to overcome discord in ourselves and bring peace to the world, “To make the heart of the universe one’s own heart.” O-Sensei taught that true awareness is not grasped by intellect alone. “This is not mere theory,” he said. “You must practice it.”
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