Newcastle Aikikai Dojo

The Dojo

Newcastle Aikikai Dojo is Newcastle's only full time Aikido dojo. It has a mat area of 60 square metres of traditional tatami. There is a comfortable lounge on which to watch a class before trying it yourself or to relax on whilst your kids enjoy their training. Newcastle Aikikai has male and female change rooms as well as toilets and showers so that you can freshen up after morning class before going off to work. Off street parking is available and it is close to buses and trains.

The dojo is designed to be quiet and attractive, to complement and assist in Aikido practise and Zen meditation. Slip off your shoes at the door and enter the sacred world of Newcastle Aikikai.

"The dojo often seems harsh and punishing; rewarding diligent training only with bruises, aches, and calluses. Yet this apparent harshness disguises the true gentility and compassion of the dojo, which smiles down from its rafters on your toil and disappointment, cherishing the knowledge that you are refining your mind, body, and spirit in the crucible of trial and perseverance. In the same way as the dojo, your mind must be gentle and compassionate toward others, yet with the strength to allow them to endure hardship and pain when it is truly in their best interest.

The open, spacious feeling of a dojo should also reflect the openness of your mind. Your mind should be `open' both in the sense of being uncluttered by unnecessary thoughts and feelings - especially destructive ones like doubt, anger, and fear - and in the sense of being open to learn. In this way, your mind will continue to expand as you learn, experience, and grow.

This is the true meaning of ku no kokoro or mushin (`empty mind'). This does not mean that there is nothing there; but that in the spaciousness of your mind, there is ever-increasing room for more."

(by Lori Stewart)