The normal clothing for Aikido is the Gi (white judo suit). After the third Kyu, students wear a Hakama.

For the first training session you will need along sleeve track suit, or Gi, if you own one, Slippers for the area outside the mat, Shower gel

No, there are no courses purely for beginners. According to my experiences as a teacher and as a student, beginners progress quicker if they train together with beginners and more advanced students. Training with beginners also makes training more varied for advanced students and brings them useful experiences.

In the Vienna Aikikai Union you can train from the age of 7. It is desirable for under 16 year olds that parents come along for the first time, get an idea of the martial art and establish a personal contact with the teacher.

See membership and costs.

The easiest thing to do is to download the application form from our website, or to fill it in online, print it and give it to the teacher at the next session. Please include a photo, or scan one and include it into the pdf file.

You are eligible for a concession membership if you are

pupil at school, A student without an income In national service or doing alternative community service an apprentices or a trainee,
On maternity leave (You can apply for a resting membership for the time you can’t train). Temporarily unemployed

You can obtain a resting membership, if you write to the union with a request, giving the reason and the duration of the rest period. As a resting member, you cannot take part in union events and have no right to vote or be voted for, nor to petition in a general meeting.

At the end of each year. The letter requesting to leave has to reach us in writing either at the union address or at our email address office@aikido-wien.com at least four weeks before.

What can I take with me from training to everyday life? It is up to every individual, how much of Aikido he or she uses for everyday life. The following list gives a few ideas:

Falling correctly
Concentration
Attention to small things, and at the same time not losing sight of the bigger picture
Breathing and stretching techniques
Inner calm
Stretching the joints
A peaceful attitude (it’s not always necessary to use force to succeed)

Even though Aikido is a defensive art, a fighter has to be very experienced in order to use Aikido effectively for self defence. Pure self defence is not the primary benefit of practicing Aikido.

Yes, apart from the study of defence with an empty hand, there is also a weapons practice. In Aikido, the following weapons are used:

Jo – used as a lance in Aikido
Bokken – the wooden sword
Tanto – the wooden knive or wooden dirk

In Aikido, there is no gender separation, due to its non-aggressive philosophy. Students learn to use as little force as possible and as much force as necessary. Therefore, women sometimes have an advantage in learning these principles. The interdependency between the two sexes is profitable for both sides. Women learn to work with stronger partners, and men learn to respond to weaker partners and therefore use less force.

No. Competitions go against the principles of Aikido. There are no fights in Aikido. A true warrior is invincible, since he rejects a fight. Aikido means to conquer the spirit inside of us who strives towards the fight. (O-Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba, Aikido founder

Like in many other martial arts, there is the student (Kyu) and the master (Dan) grade.  
The Kuy grades begin with Grad 6, and finish with Grade 1. Unlike Judo, there are no belts in different colours. Kyu belts are always white. In general, students who have reached the 3rd Kyu grade wear the traditional Hakama over their Gi. The Dan grades range from grade one to grade nine. The Dan grade ten is reserved for the Doshu. The belt colour here is black.

It is possible to join training at any time. A free trial lesson makes it possible to get to know each other. If everybody is happy and the beginner enjoys training, he or she can apply for membership.