"After 25 years of teaching and training in karate and tae kwon do, I found that I was looking for something more. Recommended by a friend, I started training at WCAA with a bit of apprehension but quickly found what was missing in my training. A great class well run with enthusiastic instructors and students, all without the large egos I had come to expect. I thoroughly recommend trying it out." - Tom Wilson

"We have been associated with Ross Taylor and his family of the Aikido Academy of Western Australia for four and a half years and in that time we have seen the improvement and attitude of our son, not only at home but also in his schooling.

The discipline and teaching that Ross and his instructors are incrementing on the children and the adults is first class and we are proud to be involved with this wonderful organisation.

Thank you Ross." - Cormack Family

"Aikido had always been something I had wanted to experience even many years before I started training.  I didn’t know what the art was called at the time but it had some attraction that seemed to draw me to it.  I unfortunately never acted upon my interest until about ten years later.

In the beginning, Aikido was meant to fill a void in my life purely on a physical level.  I wasn’t participating in   any physical activity and was looking for an outlet from a very busy business work schedule.

However nearly two years down the road, Aikido to me has become so much more than that.  Aikido has tested my patience, temper and ego to name a few.  It has developed my humility, patience and respect.  It has opened my eyes to a different culture and my mind to a different way of thinking.  Over the years, experiences have crossed my path, which seemed to have moulded my character in a positive way.  They are experiences that I have wished to pursue and have had an amazing effect on my life.  Aikido is no different.  It has moulded my character and I’m sure will continue to mould my character in the years to come.

So I would say the essence of Aikido to me is the testing, shaping a refining of my character making me stronger physically and mentally in both martial arts and day-to-day life.  It has gone from not only transforming my outer being but to also transforming my inner being." - Dave Rice

"I recently started Aikido training with the West Coast Aikido Academy after years of putting it off.  I could never have imagined just how much of an impact this would have on my life.  Already I have noticed some significant changes in my behaviour and attitude.  

The atmosphere created by Ross and his team is warm, welcoming and without ego.

With Aikido you get so much more that self defence training.  The self confidence, fitness and discipline aspects are an integral part of the package. The bonus is it’s fun and extremely practical.  I strongly urge anyone interested to give it a try it could change your life." - Denis Belliveau

On behalf of Jobs West staff we found the Personal Safety and Awareness Course to be informative and very interesting. The instruction and details given were very helpful and covered numerous subjects which was great.

Many of our staff are interested in pursuing aikido as a leisure activity thus reflecting on the impact of the course.

Many of the ‘moves’ taught will be useful for each person, if an incident is ever to occur. A lot of what was taught were seen to work and therefore of more interest to staff.

We feel that everyone that participated has taken ‘a little something’ from this.

Many thanks for the informative and helpful workshop.

Kind regards
Joel Warner
Youth Pathways Coordinator
Counseling & Transitions Services Department
JOBS WEST

Initially I started aikido because of my parents and their over-protectiveness of letting their daughter out into the big wide scary world. But the thing that made me continue training was not the fact that I got to throw around big buff guys (which is really cool, don’t get me wrong) but the fact that the principles of aikido were affecting the other aspects of my life.

For example, I am much less stressed out when it comes to doing my homework and exams. Also, concentrating on the technique during training and also throwing people around is great for relieving stress and especially good for people of my age where you can get stressed really easily.

Girls might become intimidated by the fact that it is such a masculine thing and think that it’s just a bunch of testosterone fuelled hot heads running around doing karate chops on each other? But aikido is not like that! Our way is the way of harmony, of balancing the body, mind and spirit. But don’t think it is anything like tai chi. Aikido is physically challenging so it is great for fitness as well. Being in year eleven, I don’t have much time to do a lot of sport because I am in lots of other things so three times a week I do aikido which helps me keep fit as well.

As well as keeping my stress at bay and keeping me relatively fit, aikido at our dojo is really enjoyable because we have a friendly class and everyone is willing to help out when you are stuck with something. Also, after the Japanese sensei’s recent visit, I think I am going to get a lot more out of aikido, trying for the big black! - Yuki Takeshima
 

"When you tell people you do a martial art, most people automatically think of karate or tae-kwon-do. I chose Aikido because it was not as well-known as other martial arts and I liked the philosophy that Aikido represents. It’s not a fighting, beat ‘em up type of sport.

I originally began Aikido with the idea of improving my health and fitness and learning some self-defence along the way. It was also a cool idea as not many girls do it (but they should!). But since beginning training, I have learnt so much more. I am a fairly quiet person and I feel my confidence has improved since beginning training and especially now since I have been helping out with the kid’s class. Aikido not only challenges you physically, but it also challenges you mentally. It is certainly a great feeling when I have thrown an 85kg plus man across the mats with minimal effort!

I nearly lost Aikido during a difficult time in my personal life and looking back, I probably should have stuck with Aikido at the time. Now I am just glad that I came back to it. Mentally, it has helped me immensely in becoming a more focussed, relaxed and less stressed person. My friends have commented to me how much of a calm and level-headed person I am and believe it is due to my Aikido training.

Being female and lighter than the men, it can sometimes be difficult to get a technique correct. But that is the challenge and is what makes it fun for me. The men might make it look easy, and for them it might be because they are physically stronger and heavier. The challenge is taking the techniques and making them work for me on different people and when I get a technique working I know it is not because I am using strength or using force, it is because I am doing it correctly. Aikido is not a competitive martial art and I’ve learnt that the only person you need to compete with is yourself to continually improve physically and mentally.

My initial goals of improving health and fitness are being definitely met through Aikido but I now realise I have achieved so much more than that and all of these aspects are why I enjoy and continue to train in Aikido." Lyn McCarthy

Last updated: Wednesday, 30 May 2007
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