20 years Aikido at Balerna

2000 - 2020

The Association Ki Aikido of Ticino (ATKA - Associazione Ticinese Ki Aikdio) was founded in 2000 to create an opportunity to practice the fascinating art of Aikido in Ticino as taught in the Ki no Kenkyukai Internationale with Doshu Yoshigasaki (Brussels).

Aikido is a Japanese budo art that originated around 1930 and continues to develop. It has been known in Europe since the 1950s. After judo and karate, it was the third Japanese budo art to be known worldwide.
There are no competitions in Aikido. It is equally suitable for men and women. Physical constitution plays a subordinate role when practicing, since techniques do not depend on physical strength and are practiced cooperatively.

The practice initially took place at Chiasso, later, at the gym of the Balerna schools. Training hours are regularly on Thursdays, during the school year. There is a group of children (from 7 to 13/14 years) and a group of adults (from 14 years on).

Aikido is an excellent activity for health, it is good for flexibility and coordination of the body and for mental performance too. It can also be an opportunity to learn self-defense (more precisely: self-protection). It is a basis for dealing with the many interesting facets of Japanese culture.

ATKA regularly organizes seminars and courses with high-level teachers in Balerna and a summer course in Bosco Gurin, attended by guests from all over Europe. By traveling to Aikido seminars in other countries, we met many people, and many friendships have developed over the years.

From the beginning, ATKA Balerna has given many children fun practising Aikido. Today the ATKA adult group has achieved a respectable level of aikido with its qualified teachers and is a well-known and recognized training place across Europe.