Trained here for almost four years and was approaching my shodan test. I used to think of aikido as my organizing principle. That all changed when a third-degree black belt instructor dropped me on my head. He was showing off for his buddy, the chief instructor. Both those men are no longer at this dojo, but regardless I cannot train any more as I used to - following my concussion, I tried to come back (after time off for recuperation). But after weeks/months of headaches, and trying various sorts of accommodations, my doctor strongly recommended that I discontinue training. Aikido may be called the "art of peace" and its practitioners may say that good ukemi will neutralize any throw. But it is still possible for a careless person to injure you badly. I used to think (see my previous review) that if I spoke up, was careful about whom I trained with, and practiced diligently, it would protect me from harm. Not true. Being a good driver does not always save you from the bad drivers. (I decided to update my old review, after much time and thought, so that newcomers will have a more complete picture. It's hard to ask questions of people who have left.) As with any endeavor: caveat emptor. Do your research. Visit multiple places and compare them, before you choose. Ask around - what is the reputation of the place you are considering? What is their record for follow-up when someone gets injured? How long have the most senior students been training at this place? Are classes made up of mostly newbies - i.e., does the student body turn over regularly, or are there a lot of stalwarts? How many black belts come to practice regularly? (an indication of whether the place continues to offer room for growth, once that first black belt has been attained). How often is the chief instructor present and instructing? What precautions are in place when junior (smaller/younger/inexperienced) students train with senior (stronger/faster/aggressive) students? How long has each teacher been teaching? (Being a skilled practitioner is not always the same as being a good teacher.) Pick your partners (and teachers) carefully. (Even if everyone says "but he's such a nice guy!" - if you break a collarbone because he attempted a too-ambitious throw, you will be the one in a sling, not the nice guy.) How often does the dojo host community events? Do senior staff/teachers show up for community events? I have visited from time to time. (I still hang out socially with many friends from here.) With all my heart I still miss the practice and the community I used to have. But I have had to step back from both. read more

NEEDED to find a social outlet for my 5-year old grandson while he is on an extended visit from out of state. NEEDED to find a safe, social, in-person way for him to spend time and energy with little people his own size. So perfectly pleased to have found DC Aikido --- perfect fit. He was hooked from the first class. 3x a week - in the dojo - with 30 minute sessions is exactly the right prescription. Right across the street from the Red Line Metro --- and free parking garage for drivers like us. The most important part: The instructors are amazing. Patient like saints but with an eye toward discipline. Great instruction at the 5-6 year old level mixed with discipline and exercise. The classes are very disciplined for spacing, too --- all of the students and staff are good about wearing their masks and keeping the students on "their own square" to keep social distance norms intact. So sorry my grandson is going home at the end of this month. Thank you, DC Aikido! read more

My 4 year old has been attending class here twice a week for about a month. The "sempais" are awesome and strike a great balance between being teachers, big brothers and disciplinarians. The art itself is beautiful, effective and compassionate to others. My son and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this new cool family. read more

DC Aikido Martial Arts - Karate Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Wonderful ambience. Very nice facility. Across the street from Woodley Park Zoo metro. Helpful instructor AND advanced students, both! Highly recommend it. read more

My active 3.5 year old son loves the classes here and all the instructors. He never knew how to do jumping jacks (which is one of their warmup exercises) and now he's getting close to doing a one. I think the classes would help any kid of any age with coordination and strength. We don't live close to this studio but still think it's worth driving across the city so that our son can learn martial arts . Also, the prices are reasonable and the studio is clean read more

Excellent instructors and a challenging workout! They work with you at all levels, whether you are totally new to martial arts or have done this before :) ! Location is very convenient (right across from metro), and there are a variety of class times. Also, safety is a huge priority for this dojo: I've never felt like I needed to try something, just because more advanced students were able to do it. Highly recommended! read more

This business needs to update their website, as the information contained doesn't correlate to classes offered/age cohort. After playing phone tag for a few weeks, finally learned that my 5.5 yr old and 7.5 yr old can't take courses together, which runs contrary to their website. read more

Ryan is an excellent teacher and also provides great customer service to accommodate clients' skill levels and needs. Safety precautions during the pandemic have clearly been a priority, which is not the case for many other gyms that have reopened. read more

I came at first to know how to defend myself and may be loose a few and I earned much more. I met wonderful people who welcomed me with kindness and respect. You don't have to be the best to enjoy it just have fun and do the best as you can . If you encounter an obstacle there always be someone to help. I learned a new way of dealing with day to day stress,control my body, ... Great place, great peaple,great martial art that all I can say read more

I recently started at Okinawa Aikido Dojo. It's a great place for beginners. The instructor is very helpful, as well as the ranked students. The Dojo is very clean; mats/ bathroom/ locker room all very clean. I would recommend enrolling at OAD if you are looking to learn Aikido read more

I have been attending DC Aikido for almost 6 months now. I came in as a complete novice and though the first few months of learning the art are intimidating , the dojo is anything but. The instructors and fellow students, regardless of rank, are warm and welcoming. I expected rolling eyes when I would turn the wrong direction or mess up a move, but rather experienced a flux of people jumping at the opportunity to help. The Sunday evening sessions are a wonderful way for beginners to ask more questions and gain a greater understanding in a smaller more intimate setting with their peers. The enthusiasm for the art and the dojo are infectious and makes you want to keep coming back. It is a wonderful way to meet a great group of people, get an amazing work out and learn a new skill set. I can't emphasize enough how much I would recommend just checking out a few introductory classes. read more

I love this place. It helped me mentally get through a tough life transition. I ache to go back but the time of the classes is not good for my schedule. Hoping this will change. It seems that they also have an online course so now I should revisit if I can only do it once a week. If you can at least go twice a week it is so worth it. I also found this particular martial art calming rather than getting worked up and agressive. If you keep thinking you want to do a martial art than make this your dojo. read more

In search for an alternative to going to a gym, I decided to look into martial arts. I wasn't sure which one, but visiting several places in person helped a lot. At DC Aikido, I enjoyed the location (accessibility), the condition of their dojo, the friendliness of the staff and members, and the art behind Aikido. It's conveniently located across the street from Woodley Park metro. If I decide to ride my bike, there are plenty of bike racks outside of the metro entrance. The dojo is kept clean all the time. The staff was welcoming and friendly from day one. Even if someone had a bad day at work, it's a great place to leave the frustration outside the door and focus on the art of Aikido once you enter the dojo. The instructors are great at explaining and demonstrating the techniques. I've visited other martial arts locations and DC Aikido topped all of them. Other locations felt very intimidating and pretentious; had a small facility; had strict schedules not accommodating to my work/personal life; or just not impressive. DCAikido became a place I wanted to go to and looked forward going to every week. read more

i did aikido for a couple of years in germany and it took me quite some time to find a place that i like and that practices aikido in the way that i was used to it from germany (namely less focus on the martial side and more focus on the art, or the mental side of it). the dojo is just across the street from the woodley park metro (the door next to lebanese taverna), which makes getting there really easy. the instructor is extremely helpful, energetic, and good. i have been to another place here in DC once but am glad i found this place, which feels much less pretentious. read more

This school is absolutely SUPERB on multiple levels. Providing meticulous instruction, incomparable professionalism, and frankly, an overall kindness with respect to interaction with students, parents and newcomers encompass just a few of their positive traits. My son is a 4 year old student here, and he loves it immensely. Great job D.C. Aikido! read more

I've been at DC Aikido for more than a year now, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in aikido/martial arts/a non-gym workout. I am terribly unathletic, so it was a bit intimidating going in, but all the students and instructors are incredibly friendly and welcoming. That's not to say it's not challenging--the classes will push you, but in a non-judgemental way. read more

I joined this dojo as my first foray into formal martial arts training and I am very impressed with the quality of the instruction. Everyone at the dojo has been very supportive and patient. I was initially worried about practices mixing advanced and beginner students, but the advanced students always volunteer to work with the beginners and I learn a new technique from each person I work with. It's great to be part of such a welcoming community. read more

Great dojo from every perspective! With no prior martial arts experience, it was intimidating to step onto the mats, but as soon as I did it felt great to be here. The managers/instructors made me feel welcome and at ease. I've been with this dojo for over a year now. The culture and atmosphere cultivated and promoted by the founder of the dojo and all the instructors is so welcoming and fun yet serious and highly productive. Not only I get a great work out but also amazing martial art and self development skills that impacted my life. As a chef I move a lot and work in high pressure environment and learning proper Aikido made a great impact on how I work, my movement is more efficient and more "with intention" I manage the pressure more efficiently and more importantly, Aikido helped me learn how to be present and analyze my posture at all times. Through that I realized that my posture as I work was unbalanced which created pain and spasms in my neck, shoulders and lower back. Once I started correcting my posture all the pain has started to dissipate. I wish I had found this dojo years ago! read more

My son has been learning aikido here for 16 months now. The instructors are kind and welcoming. My son loves DC Aikido so much that he requested his 5th birthday party here. It was a great success and now he wants to celebrate every birthday at DC Aikido!! Ryan and Noah are very accommodating and make it a fun experience for the kids. read more

My kids attended a 5-yr-old's b-day party there this weekend. Sempai Ryan and Sempai Cooper were very nice and welcoming; I wish they had been in charge of the party. Sempai Noah seemed awfully rigid and inflexible for a group of young kids. While the content appeared fun for the children, Sempai Noah seemed to be angry and annoyed through the whole party, irritated that young kids ate cake and dropped crumbs ("You have cake all over your face and you're running around; your face is blue, go wipe it or you're going to have to sit out."), irritated that they asked for a different goody bag so they could have different candy at the end ("No! You get what you get."), irritated that they took two steps instead of one step during a demonstration ("How many steps is one step/do you not understand that?"), irritated when anyone spoke during his reserved times to speak ("What did I say when sempai is speaking? Don't talk!"). I felt bad for the hostess and bday boy, who himself got scolded at his own party for taking too many steps during a mock "throw." I really wanted to like this experience, but bootcamp for little kids is not my idea of a fun bday party at any age. The parents were all equally uncomfortable at this event and were just looking at each other or the floor silently. Three stars were exclusively because of Sempais Cooper and Ryan and the cleanliness of the dojo. I would suggest that these two Sempais handle bdays for anyone under seven in the future. I would also suggest that you prearrange a prepaid cleaning service as part of the bday package rather than harassing little kids about their cake crumbs; it's just not realistic (or better yet, just say no food in the dojo before scheduling bdays there). read more

DC Aikido is a great place for kids, too. Our 5-year-old loves his Aikido classes so much that we had his birthday party there. The instructor emphasizes self-defense, respect and self-control. He has Jedi-like control over the kids, which is amazing to see. A very good way to channel children's energy, emotion and competition towards something positive and healthy. read more

i first emailed the dojo inquiring about the cost of lessons. i received aa email back asking for a phone number so they can discuss the cost. i gave them my number and waited more than 24 hours for a call back. finally i couldnt wait anymore and called them. i again asked about the price of lessons and he said they would discuss that when i came in. we talked some more and he said they would be happy to meet with me for an hour to discuss pricing. he asked for a credit card for the 29.00 meeting fee. i told him i would pay cash when i arrived. he asked if i could drop the fee off earlier in the week! i asked (AGAIN) about the cost of lesson, and he said they would discuss it when i arrived and AGAIN asked when i would be in to pay the fee!! this is a bad sign. if they wont put the price on their website, then what is the big secret?? why waste my time AND THEIRS, by not being upfront about prices?? people think they can turn a reluctant customer around by "talking them into it". this is a bad policy. lets say i go in there and take an hour, and then decide not to join...now, they have wasted one hour of MY time, AND one hour of THEIR time! how is this cost effective?? is a stupid and archaic policy. if a business is secretive about their prices, then stay away!! i will find another dojo thank you very much! read more