Aikido: Legally Kick Some Ass in Bangkok

If you really want to stay atop of yourself, be slim and fit and draw from an endless pool of energy you didn’t know you have: Try Aikido.

Aikido, this completely non-aggressive martial art from Japan which involves every muscle of your body.

Everybody who starts with Aikido feels like a complete idiot at first.

The coordination of fingertips and toes with the whole body feels like an impossibility to be mastered. But after overcoming first carnal and mental pains (meaning a few weeks after beginning) you’ll discover that each new practice session gives you a control over your body and mind you never experienced.

And you’re lucky to learn Aikido in Bangkok: The main Dojo here – as the Aikido houses of practice are called – is led by a master himself: By Sensei Fukakusa Shihan, Japanese national with Aikido flowing through all his veins.

Renbukan Dojo enjoys some fame all across the region. You’ll get the pure art at Renbukan as initiated by Aikido’s founder Morihei Ueshiba – whose grandson Ueshiba Moriteru Doshu was recently in Bangkok:

Because, as it happened with BangkokDan, he tried Aikido once back in Europe – but hell: Sensei there was afraid to use the slightest touch of force. Aikido there was more like touchy-feely meditation.

Not in Bangkok. You get the real thing. By using your opponent’s (uke) own forces to conquer. In an all-elegant way, completely unaggressive way without any hurting or breaking bones.

Aikido, actually, is like a playful dance of predators. Beautiful to watch if you see some black-belts flying through the air. Which takes years to get there. And you’re never too old to start! Take BangkokDan!

All you need is some basic dedication and the urge to change yourself for the better.

You’ll be in best hands.

To speak with Sensei Fukakusa’s own website:

Fukakusa Shihan, Mr. Motohiro Fukakusa, or Mr. Somchai in Thai, was one of the first faculty teaching and demonstrating Aikido, a martial art. He has been in Thailand since 1964 and was a pioneer furthering Aikido, which actually has been spread in the Kingdom since 1961.

Fukakusa Shihan holds the rank of 7th Dan and has a motto in teaching students that “discipline and system are sources of unity”.

Thus, Fukakusa Shihan is regarded as the “Father of Aikido in Thailand”. A jolly man who doesn’t say no to a refreshing drink or two after the hard work.

His Renbukan Dojo is open for trainings daily. Tests are taken four times a year. By Sensei himself. Who sits there like a happily enlightened Buddha – even though it’s not all the crème de la crème he has to witness for hours.

But Aikido is also about helping, giving and the betterment of society.

Put into action daily at Renbukan Dojo.

Renbukan Dojo