Shawnigan Lake Aikikai

01/19/2026

Shawnigan Lake Aikikai was well-represented in the special seminar at UVic! Great work everyone!

Thank you to all members of our Aikido community who came together for a special seminar on Jan 17 at UVic to celebrate the milestone of 50 years since Aikido was first introduced to Victoria by Gary Mols Sensei. The seminar featured instruction by Ishu Ishiyama Shihan, 7 dan (Vancouver West Aikikai). Gary Mols Sensei made a special guest appearance to receive an award of appreciation for his role in establishing Aikido as an activity under UVic Athletics and Recreation in the Fall of 1975. Special memories and a sampling of favourite techniques were also shared by Senseis Scott Macphail, 7 dan (Victoria Aikikai), Hilary Dawson, 6 dan (UVic Aikido Club), Bruce Riddick, 6 dan (Vancouver West Aikikai), John Petersen, 6 dan (Shawnigan Lake Aikikai), Tony Leong, 5 dan (Victoria Aikikai) and Martin Moreau, 4 dan (Rock Water Aikikai).

Top photo left to right: Hilary Dawson, Scott Macphail, Gary Mols, Ishu Ishiyama, and John Petersen. Bottom photo: Seminar participants on Jan 17. More photos to come soon!

01/06/2026

Upcoming Seminar on Jan 17th in Victoria

Please join us on Saturday, January 17th for a one-day seminar celebrating 50 years of Aikido in Victoria! The seminar will be held at the University of Victoria in the CARSA facility (same location as Summer Camp 2025) and will feature instruction by Ishiyama Shihan.

Schedule:
11:00 - 11:45 am Warmup Class
Noon - 1:00 pm Class with Ishiyama Shihan
1:15 - 2:15 pm Class with Ishiyama Shihan
2:30 - 3:45 pm Class with Guest Instructors

Note:
There will be no testing at this seminar

Registration Link (advance registration appreciated; onsite registration also available):
https://forms.zohopublic.com/treasurer2/form/50yearsofAikidoinVictoria17Jan2026withIshiyamaShih/formperma/NpPj7WaXMayAGpz5meW7cQHchi1JOdQJhyzoA3KWyR0

Background:
Aikido was first offered in Victoria by Sensei Gary Mols. He held classes at UVic starting in 1975 and he continued to teach until he passed the teaching role on to Ishiyama Sensei in 1979. Ishiyama Sensei moved to Vancouver in 1986 but he has regularly travelled back to Victoria to support our Aikido community.

To view archival images from the early days of Aikido in Victoria, please check out our page - and feel free to like, follow and share!

We hope to see you at this celebratory event! Please spread the word!

10/13/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/6cPngMs2SD7LPPSp/

Victoria Aikido Centre will host a memorial class for Ralph Kopperson on Saturday, October 19th, from 10:30 to 11:45 am. Ralph practiced Aikido for over 40 years, beginning in Victoria (Ishiyama Sensei, Kawahara Sensei, Macphail Sensei). He taught beginner classes at our dojo for many years, attended seminars and summer camps, and shared his love of shakuhachi (Japanese flute) with the aikido community. Please join us as we remember Ralph's influence in our lives, both on and off the mats. Everyone is warmly welcome. Thank you for helping us spread the word!

08/02/2024

A reminder to the community that a special (free) Aikido demonstration will be held at Shawnigan Lake School gym on Saturday, August 3 starting at 8pm. Enter the school at the West Gate, go past the hockey arena and follow the Aikido signs.

Everyone is very welcome to watch diverse practitioners of this martial art share a glimpse of their aikido training – how to remain calm and flexible in mind, heart and body when challenged mentally, emotionally, or physically.

Perhaps you have always been interested in martial arts but have never quite taken a step into a dojo, or maybe you have never found the right fit? This is your chance to take a peek and have questions answered by members of the Shawnigan Lake Aikido club who will host this demo.

Below is a short video from one of our beginner classes where John Petersen Sensei is instructing on how to "accept the ground as our friend" when we take a roll. Learning principles of connection, extension and flow feells great in mind and body!

We would love to see you there. And feel free to contact our dojo anytime to learn more about Aikido. Our club has been practicing for 25 years in Shawnigan Lake.

08/01/2024

Shawnigan lake Aikido is looking forward to hosting the BCAF 2024 SHOCHUGEIKO on Aug 2-5 at Shawnigan Lake School gym. A free public demonstration for the community will be held Aug 3 at 8 pm.

Apr 06 2024 BCAF 2024 Shochugeiko in Shawnigan Lake, BC Registration Open 2024 BCAF Shochugeiko in Shawnigan Lake, BC, August 2nd - 5th, 2024 Info Package The Earlybird Deadline is June 30th. Register now to take advantage of lower mat fees. If you plan on registering, please do so as soon as possib...

07/20/2023

5th kyu certificate presentations to James, Akiko and Leon. Well done everyone!

01/03/2023

Congratulations to Akiko, James and Leon who all successfully completed their 5th kyu test on Dec 31, 2022! The past few months of consistent training really showed in their focus, fluidity and skillfulness. Well done!

We are very happy to announce our new beginners aikido course will start on Jan 9, 2023. Classes will be on Mon/Wed/Sat. For more information please see our article in Cowichan Valley Voice Magazine or contact Steve Elskens Sensei (Phone: 250-701-3332, Email: [email protected])

Aikido is a martial art that teaches how to blend and harmonize with any aggressive energy, whether physical, psychological or emotional. It teaches you how to remain relaxed in your mind and centered in your body and spirit in the face of adversity.

03/08/2022

Morihei Ueshiba said: “The art of peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your inner enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.”

This 'working on ourselves' is part of what Chogyam Trungpa called "The Sacred Path of the Warrior," which does not involve violence or aggression but gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. The use of "warrior" here refers to "one who is brave" rather than one who makes war on others. Trungpa claimed: "The key to warriorship ... is not being afraid of who you are."

Aikido training is many things – at the core is an opportunity to be in a supportive space of challenge, to face our fears and work on who we are. Aikido is an 'art of becoming' and is useful in the world. But it is not just attending a practice here or there, or learning techniques and passing tests. The work is on and off the mats and has no end. We learn that our bodies are our dojos just as the world is our dojo. As Trungpa said: "you are never off duty."

Please know you are welcome to come to our dojo and work on yourself with us.

(image from "Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior" by Chogyam Trungpa)

02/12/2022

On the wall of our dojo hangs this calligraphy of 道 (do). In the word aikido (ai-ki-do), the last kanji is do 道 which translates as path, passage, route, journey, road (e.g. to victory), course, way (of living, proper conduct), moral principles, teachings (esp. Confucian or Buddhist), means, way. 道 is not intended as fast, efficient, obvious or even pleasant. But it leads somewhere worthy of our dedication to what it asks of us.

12/24/2021

Wishing everyone a just-what-you-need kind of holiday season, with plenty of kindness, happiness, and good health.

Our special dojo Christmas tree (adorned with 79 tiny individually-folded ornaments!) was handmade by a wonderful elderly lady with a blackbelt in origami. May we all continue to practice our chosen art for many years to come in a similar spirit of vibrance and precision. 🎄