fees
Club dues are $20 per quarter collected after the first 2 weeks of each quarter. Beginners classes are run during the first 2 weeks of each quarter to allow people to join mid-year. However, you can join any time just by showing up to a practice.
Once a decision to study aikido kokikai has been made, members will be encouraged to purchase a gi uniform for about $35 and higher belts are encouraged to purchase practice weapons, such as jo (wooden staff), bokken (wooden sword), or tanto (wooden knife).
Testing fees are also common and vary with the level of the test. The first test starts at $60 and then increments by about $10 for subsequent tests.
instructors
- Louis Ibarra Sensei - 3rd degree black belt
club officers
- Catalin Carstea - president
- Timur Akhunov - vice-president
- Rachel Marro - treasurer
- Gideon Dresdner - secretary
club history
The University of Chicago Aikido Kokikai dojo was founded by Winston Ou Sensei in 1991 when he arrived as a math graduate student. Before coming to the University of Chicago, he had trained under Karen Elder Sensei and Gary Snyder Sensei at the Princeton University dojo.
Winston Sensei left the University of Chicago in the spring of 2001. Ashwin Tirodkar Sensei replaced him as the head of the dojo. A year later, Ashwin Sensei left Chicago and Lou Ibarra Sensei who had recently moved to Chicago from Victoria became the head of the dojo.
In summer of 2005, Lou Ibarra Sensei started a dojo in the South Loop area, Kokikai Chicago, the first public Kokikai dojo in Chicago. Brad Dominy Sensei took over as head of the University of Chicago dojo.
Brad Dominy Sensei and Mary Kimura Sensei moved to San Francisco in spring 2009. Lou Ibarra Sensei returned to teach at the University of Chicago Aikido Kokikai.