25 years Aikido at Balerna

2000 - 2025

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).

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 young people and adults (from 15 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 attended by guests from all over Europe. By traveling to Aikido seminars in other countries, we meet many people, and many friendships have developed over the years.

From the beginning, ATKA Balerna has given many children fun practising Aikido. The childrens' group (from 7 to 13/14 years) stopped activities in 2020 due to the Covid restrictions. 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.

The 25th anniversary of Aikido in Balerna will be celebrated in autumn 2025 as part of the international seminar.