Aikido Academy For Children

I've been practicing in this dojo for about 4 years. Sensei Bill is the head instructor who has decades of experience in martial arts and he's a very knowledgeable teacher. I've also been learning QiGung and Daitoryu along with Aikido, which helps in cultivating Martial arts skills. The other popular instructors are Sensei Mike and Sensei John, who are excellent teachers as well. The cool thing about them is that they are very keen in learning the right martial arts way and we do a lot of experimentation and we have a lot of fun learning Aikido and Daitoryu together :-)

Sensi Bill is excellent. My children have been training with him for years. I'm impressed and they love it.

Great aikido school, wonderful for children. We have been associated with Redmond Aikido Academy for more than a year. My daughter enjoys it. Sensei Bill has a talent for teaching kids. He teaches aikido techniques by explaining natural body mechanics. He inspires an attitude of calmness, flexibility and strength of mind and spirit. Focus, perseverance, and personal improvement are highly promoted. Great balance of teaching and fun.

My son has been taking lessons at Aikido Academy since spring of 09. He has learned to focus, concentrate and respect since he started. It is important to learn how to defend yourself but more importantly Sensei Bill teaches children how you can use your opponent's negative energy to your advantage. I have been to different martial arts dojos before but by far this place has the right energy. It is a bit hectic for me to take my son there after school during the week, but I find it's all worth it.

Before you decide on a martial arts school for yourself or your child, you should definitely give Aikido Academy of Redmond a try. If you live or work in Redmond, Washington I would highly recommend Bill Gray’s Aikido Academy for Children and Adults as a great place to study Martial Arts. I studied with a wonderful 7th degree black belt in Japan. He was an impressive aikido practitioner and had been teaching the Japanese Self Defense Forces for decades but I must say I learned more quickly with Bill due to his willingness to answer my endless questions about the mechanics of each hold or throw. Bill understands that some moves in aikido come more naturally to some and other techniques come more naturally to others. He continually studies aikido, other martial arts and body mechanics in order to make all moves natural and fluid and then teach his students what he has learned through lessons and tireless practice. Additionally, my children have been going to Aikido Academy for 8 months now. They love the way Bill teaches. He usually starts the class with some floor movement work then works on techniques and finally if there is time he has them play a game that uses some aspect of what they are learning in aikido in a different way. My 6 year old son was bouncing off the walls when he first started but now he can sit still and focus throughout the full hour long class. Before working with Bill Sensei 2 minutes of self-control was a challenge. My 9 year old daughter was has improved her poise and self-confidence. She was always confident at school but this is different, she seems to be less of a follower now and is more willing to stand up to her friends and let them know that she is not a pushover anymore. To be honest even though I have had a great experience learning with Sensei Bill, I took my daughter to another aikido school in Redmond a couple of years ago because at the time Aikido Academy in Redmond did not have a class that I could take with my Daughter. The classes were very dumbed down. My kid did not get anything out of the class nor did I. At the beginning of this last summer I also took my 6 year old son and my 9 year old daughter to a Aikido Academy while at the same time I took them to a taekwondo (Tae Kwon Do) school in Redmond so that they could chose for themselves which they liked better. We had taken taekwondo form this 4th degree black belt during a summer day camp before through the Redmond Parks and Recreation Department when my daughter was 5 but the instructor had no lesson plan and seemed disorganized but he was very nice so I thought we would give them a second try in hopes that they would have the kinks worked out by now. They didn’t. The taekwondo was scheduled to start the day after the 4th of July. The taekwondo School had decided not to have class that day but they neglected to let us know that. We went to the class again two days later and it was taught by a brown belt that was confused and disorganized. We did not even see the owners/instructors of the school at all. The brown belt then proceeded to split the group into two and have us beginners taught by a different student. I think this student had not taken in quite a while because he seemed to know even less about what to do than the brown belt teaching the class. My kids were board and complained over and over again that they did not want to go back to taekwondo. They have not taken taekwondo again but have once asked to miss an Aikido class.