Offering
Japanese martial arts since 2004
912-232-6850
The ACS offers Aikido training for
adults only on:
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday
beginning at 6:30 pm
Weekend
classes are seasonal, please inquire at the school.
Guests are welcome to observe classes and participate in two before enrolling.
Please press the “Aikido” button at the entrance door on
On occasion, teachers and/or enrolled students are running late and are unable to buzz guests into the school, please be patient.
Our dues are forty dollars per month.
We accept cash only at this time. In the coming months, ACS will begin collecting monthly dues via a billing company and an authorized account. All students will be required to pay using this service. There is no long term contract and payments will discontinue with 30 days notice. Participation in the USAF belt testing and seminars require additional fees. Students are encouraged, but, not required to become USAF members and take exams.
A white Judo or Karate uniform is required.
We do not sell uniforms or any other merchandise. Most students order equipment from martial arts retailers on the internet. Guests must wear loose exercise clothes during their trial classes.
We are affiliated with the
ACS is part of a group of schools located world wide and
obtains diplomas from Aikido Hombu Dojo (
Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei
Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious
beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy" or as
"the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art
that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their
attacker from injury.
Aikido is
performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force
of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. The aikidōka (aikido
practitioner) "leads" the attacker's momentum using
entering and turning movements. The techniques are completed with various throws
or joint
locks. Aikido can be categorized under the general umbrella of grappling
arts.
Aikido derives
mainly from the martial art of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu,
but began to diverge from it in the late 1920s, partly due to Ueshiba's
involvement with the Ōmoto-kyō religion. Ueshiba's early students'
documents bear the term aiki-jūjutsu. Many of Ueshiba's senior
students have different approaches to aikido, depending on when they studied
with him. Today aikido is found all over the world in a number of styles, with
broad ranges of interpretation and emphasis. However, they all share techniques
learned from Ueshiba and most have concern for the well-being of the attacker.
This attitude has been at the core of criticisms of aikido and related arts.
Aikido training
is based primarily on two partners practicing pre-arranged forms (kata) rather than
freestyle practice. The basic pattern is for the receiver of the technique (uke) to initiate an attack against the
thrower nage, who neutralizes this attack with an aikido technique.
Both halves of
the technique, that of uke and that of nage, are considered
essential to aikido training. Both are studying aikido principles of blending
and adaptation. Nage learns to blend with and control attacking energy,
while uke learns to become calm and flexible in the disadvantageous,
off-balance positions in which nage places them. This
"receiving" of the technique is called ukemi. Uke
continuously seeks to regain balance and cover vulnerabilities (e.g., an
exposed side), while nage uses position and timing to keep uke
off-balance and vulnerable. In more advanced training, uke will
sometimes apply reversal techniques (kaeshi-waza) to regain balance and pin or
throw nage.
Ukemi
refers to the act of receiving a technique. Good ukemi involves a parry
or breakfall that is used to avoid pain or injury, such as joint dislocations
or atemi.
Alan James Gay, 2nd degree black belt and chief
instructor, began his training in the Aikido Center of Atlanta in 1982 and
continues his association to this day.
His additional focused training includes, the New York Aikikai (1986-1988) and Aikido Hombu
Dojo in
Web sites:
This connects to our national school in
This connects to details about the USAF
This connects to our sister school in
This connects to the world school where all our diploma
and ranks are registered