Aikido in Dallas/Fort Worth

[aikigreg]

I really *REALLY* miss Aikido. I've not trained in almost 2 years now, after having been an aikidoka for 6. I know that Bill Sosa's organization operates one dojo in Fort Worth, with very few classes per week. With all due respect to Sosa Sensei, I do not feel that I would fit in well with his school.

Are there any other options/dojo near me that anyone is aware of? Any help is appreciated.

Arigato gozaimashita.

Greg

[James806]

Here are a few I think may be close.

Dallas Aikido Club
Instructor: Mark Morgan, Aikido 4th Dan
Location: Campbell Green Recreation Center (Campbell @ Hillcrest), Dallas, Texas
Phone: (972) 396-1438

Denton Aikido Club
Instructor: Jack Bieler, Aikido 6th Dan, Jodo 3rd Dan
Location: 223 W Oak St, Denton, Texas
Phone: (940) 380-1465
E-Mail: jjbieler@airmail.net

Tim Larson - Aikido
Instructor: Tim Larson, Aikido 5th Dan
Location: Carrolton, Texas
Phone: (214) 492-7995

James Day

[Den]

Greg,
You didn't note your previous affiliation. The only Aikido in Dallas (that I know of) is Tohei's Ki Society. If you're an Aikikai or ASU student, this might be more of an issue than ...

Good luck,
Anthony

[Greg Jennings]

Originally posted by Den
Greg,
You didn't note your previous affiliation. The only Aikido in Dallas (that I know of) is Tohei's Ki Society. If you're an Aikikai or ASU student, this might be more of an issue than ...

Not hardly.

See http://www.aikiweb.com/search/ Just put Texas in the state field and browse the results. I see a lot of possibilities.

I've met the sensei and several students of North Texas Aikido. They're great folks. Long drive from Ft. Worth, though. I used to commute from west Fort Worth to Plano. I gave up and moved to Grapevine.

http://www.NorthTexasAikido.com

Regards (from the other Greg),

[aikigreg]

I don't pay so much attention to the school as to the dynamic of the particular club/school I am working with. My own rank is from ASU, but I have seen instructors on both the hard and soft sides of the spectrum from this affiliation, and imagine that I can find an instructor to suit no matter what the school. In my reference to Sosa Sensei I was referring to this particular group, not the man or his school per se.

My biggest concern lies with how my personal training goes. Personally, I don't care much for belt rankings in Aikido, but I could deal with a school that used that method so long as I was allowed to train at my own pace. Next comes my desire to train in Aikido as a martial art. I enjoy the spirituality of Aikido, but I feel that it comes through the physical training, not as a separate study in itself as I have seen some teach it. Not to mention that I have a good 30 pounds of lard to remove :)

Unfortunately, so far, I see no options other than the one school. I do work near Denton, so North Texas might be an option, if I'm willing to give up that entire night to train. I might be that willing - just hoping there are other options....

Thanks for all the help so far, and perhaps I'll see some of you in the near future!

Greg

[Greg Jennings]

From the AikiWeb dojo finder:

Dojo:
Kyushin Otonashii Aiki BudoKai
Address:
5200 Hemphill Street; Fort Worth TX 76115
Contact:
P.O. Box 121154 Ft. Worth Tx. 76121
State:
TX, United States
Phone:
(817) 356-5144
Instructor(s):
David E. McJimson, 6th dan
E-mail:
GenryuHiyo@aol.com
Schedule:
MW
Style:
Aikikai
Affiliation:
Independent
Updated:
8. Sep, 2000

Regards (from the other Greg),

[Ronnie Nakamura]

Greg,

If you are interested, you should check out a group doing Yanagi ryu aikijujutsu in Dallas. They train at SMU University. A high level aikido buddy of mine visited this club a year or so ago and was really super impressed with the level of instruction and the people there. I recommended this group to him because I understood that Toby Threadgill was a part of this group. (I knew Toby years ago. He recently received a Menkyo Kaiden from my old Jujutsu teacher Yuki Takamura. ) This club is in some way associated with Don Angier of the Yanagi ryu. I think the VP of the university also instructs and is part of this club. I think his name is Bryan something??? If I were you I'd check it out but I don't know how far the drive is to Dallas from Ft Worth.


Ron Nakamura


BTW, Sensei Threadgill is a regular poster over on several koryu boards.

[Greg Jennings]

Originally posted by Ronnie Nakamura
Greg,
If I were you I'd check it out but I don't know how far the drive is to Dallas from Ft Worth.


Ron,

It's about 40 miles from Ft. Worth to Dallas. The traffic on the Dallas side is brutal. Think San Francisco or Washington DC.


Regards (from the other Greg; in Alabama by way of the DFW area),

[Chad Bruttomesso]

Greg (aikigreg),

Welcome to the Aikido Forum here on E-Budo. I have heard some good things about a few of the dojos mentioned. Sounds like you are in luck.

It is the rule here on E-Budo that we post using our full names. You can either do this manually or by setting up your signature. Thank you and have a nice day.

Thank you,

Hey Ron,

Long time no hear. I've been hunting for you. How is N. Calif.. Drop me an E-mail.

Aikigreg,

Yes, the SMU Martial Arts Club/aikijujutsu is going strong. We are associated with Don Angier and operate a Yanagi ryu Tozama Dojo there. The drive from Ft Worth in not 40 miles unless you live in west Ft Worth but it is still a hike. Downtown to downtown is closer to 30 miles. That is still a bit of a drive but we have several students driving that far. One drives in from Burleson, about 50 miles. The SMU campus is just a couple of miles north of downtown Dallas.

BTW, the chief instructor of the club is Bryan Robbins but he is not the VP of SMU. That is Dr Tom Barry. He is a founding member of the club and teaches with us as well.

If we can be of any service just drop me a line. As far as Aikido goes I highly recommend North Texas Aikido under the direction of Sensei Pat Hendricks. Russ Alvey is the dojo cho there but that is a big hike from Ft Worth. That Dojo is about 30 mile north of Dallas. Wish I could be more helpful.

Toby Threadgill / Soryushin Dojo