Blue Mountains Aikido - Aiki-Kai

02/07/2025

Due to renovations of the hall at Faulconbridge where we normally train, classes have relocated temporarily. We have two locations.

Mondays 14th July - 4th August
Warrimoo Citizens Hall

Wednesdays 16th July - 6th August
Blaxland Community Centre - Sharon Burridge Hall

Note: There will be no classes next week (7th & 9th July) due to the National Winter Winter School.

We expect to resume at Faulconbridge from Monday 11th August.

01/12/2024

1st Dec, 2024. Aiki Kai NSW was fortunate to have Tony Smibert Shihan visit us for a training and grading weekend.
Tony Shihan is sought all over the world as an instructor, and we are fortunate to have him give of his time to lead classes for us.
Here are the members of the Blue Mountains dojo that joined in the training with Tony Shihan. (L to R): Danny Wilson, Dan Wallace, Wayne Sheils, Paul Parrish, Tony Smibert Shihan, Adam Dawkins, Norm Baynes.
Note the changes in the line-up:
Paul has moved house to the mountains and will be joining our classes soon.
Norm wearing a hakama that he earned the right to do at last winter school.
For those with very good eyesight... you may notice that Dan is now a 4th kyu (graded in ACT in September), and Adam is a 2nd kyu (as of yesterday) Congratulations to all!

12/11/2024

Sugano sensei in his early days in Australia.

12/10/2024

11/07/2024

Congratulations Norm. Norm was awarded Shodan at the 2024 Winter School. A small celebration at our next Blue Mountains class on Monday is sure to follow. Well done Norm. (Photo L>R: Wayne Sensei, Tony Smibert Shihan, Norm, Adam)

10/07/2024

Representing Blue Mts. at the 2024 Aikikai Winter School. Here with guest instructor Suzuki Toshio Shihan from Hombu.

15/02/2024

Miles Perigo visit, Jan 2024

On 27th January, a few members of our group gathered in Katoomba to catch up with Miles Perigo. Miles practiced Aikido with us in the Blue Mountains from ~2006 to 2016. When Miles started with us, he was working in IT for the Blue Mountains council. With a view to experiencing the wider world, Miles retrained as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and moved to Nepal in ~2016.
After a couple of years in Nepal, Miles moved on to China. Miles has since married a Chinese national, and now lives in south-west China, not far from the border of Myanmar.
Miles made this short visit to Australia to catch up with family and friends here. Fortunately, on the day that we got together, at the Mountain Culture Brewery in Katoomba, it was announced that the Mountain Culture ‘Status Quo’ beer had been voted the best craft beer in Australia. The good fortune was that this beer was then ‘on the house’ for the rest of the evening! It was mayhem for a while, but free beer is a very good deal!
It was great to see Miles again, looking happy and well.

Images below:
(left) Lunch at Station Bar in Katoomba. (L to R) Miles, George, Monika, Norm, Michel. Present but not in pic: Wayne, Adam, Machiko.
(right) wild scenes at Mountain Culture Brewery in Katoomba when it was announced that they had been voted 'the best craft beer in Australia'.

13/02/2024

Australia is remarkable for the number of small Aikido groups in far-flung places that are maintained by committed students. The distances in Australia are vast, and it requires great dedication to maintain one’s personal practice, as well as organise a dojo, in cities that are remote. I am always in awe of the character of the people who continue their practice despite the tyranny of distance.
TTC weekends are training events where senior instructors visit dojos (usually interstate) to lead training ‘seminars’, and conduct gradings. Because every instructor is different, these seminars usually add a fresh perspective to the teaching of the local instructors. TTC weekends also ensure that students in isolated places get the benefit of close training with senior Aikido instructors. Aiki Kai Australia funds the instructor’s travel for these TTC events.
In October 2023, Wayne had the pleasure of visiting Cairns to lead a TTC weekend with the group in far North Queensland. We had enthusiastic training sessions, an excellent 4th kyu grading, and a delicious lunch at a local cafe.
Many thanks to Dominique and M***a for their generous hospitality while staying with them.

13/02/2024

The Blue Mountains Aikido dojo (school) opened in the Faulconbridge Community Hall in March 2005. Since then, classes have been held there twice per week, with occasional extra outdoor classes in the wonderful natural environment of the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains Aikido dojo is part of Aikido NSW (a not-for-profit community organisation).
Over the 19 years of the dojo’s operation, many Blue Mountains’ residents have come along and started Aikido with us. Some of these people have gone on to be senior instructors after years of Aikido study.
In 2023, as we were trying to ‘rebuild’ our group after covid shutdowns, we applied for a Blue Mountains City Council ‘Community Assistance Program’ (CAP) grant. We are pleased to acknowledge that we were successful in our application, and we were awarded financial assistance through this scheme. The funds awarded will be used for supporting our club in various ways, including promotional activities. (e.g. a stall at the Springwood Festival)
We are grateful to the Blue Mountains Council, via its CAP grants, for supporting our community-based club that has now been operating for 19 years.

17/01/2024

2024 Summer School, 7th - 12th Jan.
Launceston, Tasmania