You'll meet some of the nicest people on the Aikido mats!

Aikido is a non-aggressive form of self defense for defending yourself with dignity and grace. This may include just turning your body or just deflecting the attacker's body.  However if more extreme measures are required, the focus is to finish the confrontation quickly and decisively. In short, this means WIN!!! FAST!!! Don't trade punches. Don't wrestle. WIN!!! NOW!!! 

This means, you are not taught to go looking for a fight. You are taught to avoid the fight. Go the other way. If you are never attacked, you may never have to use this. However, If you are attacked and there is no escaping, then finish the confrontation immediately in a way that teaches the attacker to NEVER think of attacking you again. This is tough love.

The main precursor to Aikido was Daito-Ryu Jujutsu, which was brutally effective and used overwhelming force to end the conflict immediately. The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba was a very religious and spiritual man, who attained enlightenment in the sense of what the Buddhists call "Kundalini" "spiritual enlightenment".  After this he realized that Budo was really a form of love, "tough love" and started modifying how he applied techniques.  The essence of the difference is attitude.  Where the Daito-Ryu applies overwhelming force, Aikido applies "just enough" to avoid, or deflect, or control, or redirect, or subdue without hurting.   What I am sensing very often in the Iwama Style are still strong techniques that could easily turn very nasty if the attitude of "just enough" tough love changed to brutal force.  I also practiced with a group of older people who knew O'Sensei and whenever I mentioned Iwama-Ryu, they would correct me and called it O'Sensei-Ryu. 

Aikido of Gainesville specializes in Iwama and Nishio styles and focuses on basics while studying the leverage, balance points, and the sciences of physics and anatomy, specifically concerning skeletal manipulation. We also study cause and effects of manipulation of the mind while executing techniques which gain maximum effectiveness with the least effort. I try to keep the styles separate, but as the years go by, more and more of the concepts bleed together and the differences are blurring. I pick the movements that are most effective from both styles and incorporate them together.

Taught by
Sensei Tom Huffman

4th Deg. Aikikai Black belt

23 Years Experience with 6 Years in Japan

To get a visual idea of Aikido, watch this video with numerous techniques, relationships and applications.  Some of these techniques are deliberately slow to allow you to see what is happening. 
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• Aikido of Gainesville Smorgasbord.

An explanation of the difference between the

• Center of Balance and the Center of Energy or Hara.

Below are free Youtube video clips of Tom Huffman Sensei giving detailed explainations of positions, movements, leverages and balance destabalizing points that enhance Iwama Style techniques. These techniques make up the majority of basic classes at Santa Fe Community College and at the Unified Training Center.

Do not assume that there are not advanced concepts and techniques within the Iwama Style. The repertoire of techniques that Saito Sensei received from O'Sensei is vast and these techniques were passed on to Hitohiro Saito. In addition to this O'Sensei and Saito Sensei taught about the spontaneous development of new techniques. This is the meaning/translation of the term "Takemusu Aiki". Techniques that you were never taught; things you have never seen just appear. Sometimes you don't even know how to duplicate them. It's exciting when this happens.

• Iwama 0001 Katatedori Iikyo Omote
• Iwama 0002 Katatedori Iikyo Ura
• Iwama 0003 Katatedori Nikyo Omote
• Iwama 0004 Katatedori Nikyo Ura
• Iwama 0005 Katatedori Sankyo Omote
• Iwama 0006 Katatedori Sankyo Ura
• Nishio-Iwama Integrated Katatedori Kotegaeshi Omote
• Iwama 0008 Katatedori Kotegaeshi Ura
• Iwama 0009 Katatedori Iriminage Omote 3 ways

The folowing four video clips show the warmup that is done at Aikido of Gainesville and the SFCC Aikido Club. The time added in explanation and the limitations set for Youtube clips required me to break it up into four clips. The different exercises have been compiled over the years using pieces from Karate warmups, Yoga warmups, Ki Society warmups and various other warmups. I know that people move, whether on their own decisions or as the result of other peoples' decisions and may not have a warmup, but need one. Feel free to use this as a reference and take pieces as you like for your own warmups.

• An Aikido Warmup part 1
• An Aikido Warmup part 2
• An Aikido Warmup part 3
• An Aikido Warmup part 4

The mission of Aikido of Gainesville is to provide an opportunity for citizens to learn a non-aggressive yet dynamic form of self defense in a controlled atmosphere of fun, self development and education. Self development will improve students' courage, confidence, strength, endurance and coordination in handling physical conflicts without harming an attacker. In addition this, practice will promote leadership skills that can be applied in the community.

The location for practices is in the Unified Training Center : 809 W. University Ave., Gainesville, FL. 32601. The building is at the corner of SW 8th Street and W. University Ave.

Practice Times

Sundays..............................Weapons.......................................................2:00-3:45pm
Sundays .............................Empty Hand...................................................4:00-6:00pm
Sundays .............................Advanced Empty Hand...................................6:00-7:30pm
 .................(Must pass 3rd proficiency test to participate in advanced class)
Mondays & Fridays............Aikido After Noon.........................................12:30-2:30pm
Mondays............................Empty Hand....................................................7:30-9:30pm
Tuesdays & Thursdays.......Aikido for Kids................................................4:00-5:30pm
Wednesdays .....................Empty Hand......................................................7:30-9:30pm
Thursdays.........................Open(Weapons Take-aways, test practice, etc.)..7:30-9:30pm
Mondays & Wednesdays...Iaido (Japanese Sword $10 per class)................6:15-7:15pm 

When I started in Aikido the quality of what I found in Florida did not compare with what I practiced in California. I made a decision to get stationed in Japan while in the Navy and learn as much as possible from top masters and bring top quality Aikido back to Florida. In Japan, I studied with the #2 (Morihiro Saito Sensei) and #3 (Shoji Nishio Sensei) masters (at that time) in the Aikikai Aikido System. I had the opportunity to go and practice with the #1 master (Kishomaru Ueshiba), however I had met many of his students at various seminars around Tokyo and they were not as impressive as the other masters' students. I focused my studies on the two styles which I felt were the most effective.