The Aikiken budo club was founded in 1993. Initially it held training sessions at the indoor sports centre Monitoimitalo in Jyväskylä. In 1994 Aikiken opened its first own dojo on the upper floor of the café Ruth, located on Kilpisenkatu Street near the centre of Jyväskylä. At first only Aikido and Iaido were taught at the Aikiken dojo, but soon also other martial arts were included in the dojo's teaching programme. Children's classes were begun in 1994 by providing teaching of Aikido and Hontai Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu. In 1995 Aikiken dojo was forced to move to a new location because the building on Kilpisenkatu was condemned to demolition. New premises were found on the uptown end of Kauppakatu street, but unfortunately there was not enough space. In six months the dojo had to move again, because the premises were sold. In early June 1995 we rented our current premises on Cygnaeuksenkatu street. Only a month after this the first Escrima seminar in Jyväskylä was held. It was taught by Kaj Westersund, and after the seminar Escrima training was officially begun at the dojo. Tai Chi was added in the dojo’s programme in 1999, although Tai Chi had had been practiced unofficially for a few years before that at the Aikiken dojo.

In January 2001 traditional kenjutsu was added to the dojo’s program when practicing of Hyoho niten ichi ryu was begun at the dojo. It was only a few months after this that practicing of the Sugawara ha of Tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu was began under the instruction of Petteri Silenius. In 2002 Kai Koskinen became a certified instructor of Tactical Krav Maga. Krav Maga was practiced at Aikiken until the end of 2005. In the beginning Krav Maga was very popular, but later it started losing its popularity. Partly because of this, and partly because of the inflexible policies of the art, Kai Koskinen decided to develop an original method of self-defense, which would combine different martial arts practiced by Kai Koskinen into a system that would also work in real-life situations. The result is Practical Defensive Fighting System (P.D.F.S.), a system that only emphasizes self-defense and exercises that increase the real reaction speed. P.D.F.S has been very popular so far and people from other cities and from Estonia have also been interested in it. A thing to be noted is, that when P.D.F.S was introduced in December 2005 all those, who had been practicing Krav Maga wanted to switch to this new art. The first beginners' course was held in January 2006 and there were 46 participants.

In 2006 negotiations about joining the original lineage of Katori shinto ryu were started with Phil Relnick sensei. After numerous e-mail messages, phone calls and one meeting Kai Koskinen and Tommi Friman made keppan, a blood oath, to the current head teacher of the school on May 27th 2006 after being recommended by Phil Relnick sensei.
 
Aikiken ry is the only budo club in Jyväskylä, in which you can study genuine koryu martial arts that have been accepted as members of the Nihon kobudo kyokai. Tenshin shoden katori shinto ryu, Hyoho niten ichi ryu and Hontai yoshin ryu are a part of the living Japanese tradition.
Each of these schools incorporate various techniques ranging from traditional weapons to unarmed combat techniques. Nishio-sensei’s aikido is an efficient and versatile modern budo art. Accurate irimi (entering an attack) and atemiwaza (striking to the weak points of the body) make training realistic. Childrens’ aikido classes give children an excellent foundation for practicing martial arts as an adult, develops their concentration and teaches them good manners. Escrima, a martial art originating from the Philippines, introduces you to the world of sticks and blades. This way you get to know these weapons from the point of view of a person wielding them. Wudang Tai Chi Chuan is the most versatile style of Tai Chi practiced in Finland. Unlike other styles, Wudang Tai Chi gives you an opportunity to choose which components of Tai Chi to practice.
You can choose to practice hand forms, weapon forms and techniques, pushing hands, full contact fighting or all of the above. If you are looking for a martial art with practical self-defense applications, P.D.F.S is the martial art for you. You can read more about these martial arts in the Arts section.

Note!
Top teachers from abroad come to teach at Aikiken dojo at least once a year. Professional instructors ensure that each student improves their skills. Kai Koskinen is the only budo instructor in Jyväskylä, who visits Japan yearly to improve his own skills, and who regularly teaches abroad.

Welcome to the dojo in which training and students are taken seriously.

Creation date : 03.05.2006 @ 12:29
Last update : 08.12.2008 @ 10:31
Category : Aikiken ry

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