Kid’s Aikido Classes on Thursday

We’re excited to announce the start of a new Aikido class just for kids! Beginning this Thursday, class will meet from 5:00–6:00 pm at Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin. The class will be led by Johnson Sensei, who already has two committed students ready to take their first steps on the mat.

Aikido offers younger students more than just physical activity. Through practice, kids learn balance, coordination, and body awareness while also developing focus, patience, and respect for others. The training environment encourages cooperation rather than competition, helping children build confidence and resilience in a supportive community.

If you know a child who would benefit from movement, discipline, and fun in a safe setting, we invite them to join us this Thursday and see what Aikido is all about.

The Weight of Memory

This week, I found myself unpacking boxes—not just any boxes, but ones filled with over four decades of Aikido.

Photographs. Handwritten notes. Seminar flyers from another era. Framed certificates, folded hakama, and candid snapshots of tired, smiling faces after long hours on the mat. These are the mementos entrusted to me by my instructor, Leonard Sensei.

To hold these objects is to hold time itself. Each image tells a story—not just about technique, but about commitment, laughter, hardship, and community. These aren’t museum pieces. They are living reminders of the path we walk in Aikido, and of the generations who’ve helped shape it—and continue to shape it today.

I don’t take this responsibility lightly. Leonard Sensei has poured so much of his life into this art and into the people he’s trained with over the years. Being entrusted with this archive is humbling. It’s a quiet gesture that says, “Carry this forward.” And that’s what I intend to do as our new dojo prepares to open its doors this week.

In the months ahead, I hope to share some of these moments with you—through photos, reflections, and stories that have made their way into these boxes. These memories don’t belong to me alone. They’re part of our shared Aikido journey, and I believe they still have much to offer us as we begin this new chapter together.

See you on the mat.

—Erwin

Opening Day at Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin

We’re excited to announce September 1st as the official opening day of Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin!

This marks the beginning of our dojo’s journey, and we invite you to join us as part of the first-ever cohort of students on the mat. Whether you’ve practiced martial arts before or are simply curious about Aikido, this is a rare opportunity to be there from the very start and help shape the spirit of our new community.

Opening day will include introductions, practice, and time to meet one another. No prior experience is required—just bring curiosity, comfortable clothing, and a willingness to move.

📍 Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin 4712 S John Paul Rd, Milton WI (Greater Janesville Area)

Come share in the beginning of something new. Step onto the mats with us, and be part of the foundation of Aikido in South Central Wisconsin.

Send your questions to info@aikidoofwisconsin.com

A poster announcing the start of classes on September first. There is a watermark of one set of hands grabbing another

Building a dojo – weeks 5-7

We are now moving into the beautifying phase of building the dojo: the walls are built and the mat’s frame is in place with padding under the tatami mats.

We are priming the walls, then we’ll paint them. We have trimmings to stain and seal. We have to install shelves and hooks in the dressing rooms.

We still have to install the kitchenette and a water fountain. Figuring out the social/watching area that’s next to the garage door is going to take some time.

The most difficult part will be to find a new home for all the mementos that I inherited from my teacher, Terry Leonard. He has entrusted me to display and share all the treasures he has collected. I can’t wait for people to come visit the new space.

If you haven't heard, we are aiming to open the dojo’s doors to the public on September 1st. Please come visit, hopefully you’ll stay and train.

Grand Opening Seminar

It's hard to believe we are about to open our doors to the public....

It took a lot of scouting to find a place that could host the dojo. We went through many floor plans to turn an empty box into our dream dojo. We built changing rooms, a little office and storage space. This week we are sanding and painting. The space is definitely starting to look like a dojo!

Our plan is to have a soft opening the 1st of September. That will give us a month to find our dojo legs and take care of all the details that will, for sure, pop up.

To mark this occasion, we’re hosting a weekend of training and community with guest instruction from senior Aikido teachers visiting from all around the country. We would love if you would attend.

Schedule & Format

Classes will run throughout the weekend from Friday evening through Sunday and led by experienced aikidoists who will each share their own approach to the art.

We thought this would be a great way to learn, connect, and practice with others from inside and outside the region. A detailed schedule will be posted closer to the event.

All classes are open to the public to observe free of charge.

Saturday Dinner

On Saturday evening at 7:30 PM, we’ll host a dinner at the dojo for all registered participants.
Food and drinks will be provided. It’s a chance to unwind, share a meal, and enjoy each other’s company.

Accommodations AmericInn has discounted rooms for aikidoists coming to the Grand Opening. You can use this link to make your reservation or call them directly at 608-756-4511. Refer to group code CAOA and group name is Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin.

Registration Fee

• All weekend: $120
• Friday $45
• Saturday $80
• Sunday $45

We will collect fees the during the seminar. We have to figure what is the best way to do that. Processing fees were not a thing I knew about before starting the dojo.

If the fee is a barrier, please reach out—we want to make this seminar accessible to all who want to attend.

Registration

Please register ahead by completing this form. We’ll post more details, including class times, in the coming weeks.

We’re looking forward to training with you and sharing our new space with our broader Aikido community.

Buildout weeks 2 & 3

We’ve Continued to Be Busy!

We raised the frames for the changing rooms, office, and storage room next to the mat area. Much of the drywall is up, though there’s still plenty of work left to do.

We purchased eight rolls of carpet padding and laid them across the entire mat space. After settling on a pattern for our three mat colors, we placed the mats down and even held a few informal classes in the new space. Taking ukemi on these mats feels like falling on feathers!

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most is the temporary shomen we set up. It’s a simple woven carpet made of natural fibers, but what makes it so special to me is its history—it served as the focal point of the shomen at Aikido of Harvard for nearly 25 years and now it has been entrusted to me. I hope it watches over our practice for another 25 years.

Buildout week 1

We were busy this week!

We purchased a ton of lumber to build two changing rooms, one office, and one storage closet. We also picked up several sheets of drywall, a bucket of nails, screws, and flooring for the parts of the dojo not covered by mats.

We purchased a moisture barrier to place between the bare concrete floor and the mats, along with padding foam. A monkey wrench was thrown our way when we discovered that the mats I purchased a year ago didn’t quite match the ones we inherited from Aikido of Harvard. Fortunately, a 1/4” plywood board is all we need to ensure the mats sit flush against each other.

After a week of work, we’ve raised the frames for the two changing rooms, the office, and the storage closet. We’ve also hung enough drywall to make the changing rooms usable. We’re aiming to hold informal class in our new space tomorrow evening!

Things left to do:
• Hang the remaining drywall on the outside of the changing rooms and office

• Install the flooring

• Lay the moisture barrier, plywood (where needed), padding, and mats

• Build the L-shaped wooden brace to keep the mats from shifting

Please enjoy the pictures of our space and wish us luck. We are going to need it!

Beginnings are difficult

June 2025 • Written by Erwin Lares

If you’ve been following my efforts to bring Aikido to the Janesville area, you probably know that our attempt to launch the dojo in October 2024 was, unfortunately, a complete flop.

To this day, I’m not entirely sure why the Rock County Historical Society backed out of our collaboration and canceled the project just two weeks before it was set to begin. I was never given a satisfactory explanation—and at this point, I think it’s pointless to keep looking for one.

I can’t overstate how demoralizing that was. I spent most of 2024 setting things up properly: I registered the dojo as a legal entity in Wisconsin, established it as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, purchased mats, and handled countless other preparations.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. At the end of January this year, the Capital Aikido Federation expressed interest in helping me get the dojo off the ground. That renewed hope led to a fresh search for a space, along with new business plans and proposals.

I’m happy to share that this week, we signed a lease for a beautiful open space that will become our dojo’s new home. It’s just a few minutes off the Highway 26 interstate exit. The space has high ceilings, plenty of room—and no columns!

We're planning to document the process of turning an empty space into the home of the dojo, so stay tuned.

Our first unoffical class

August 2024 • Written by Erwin Lares

A couple of weeks ago, I got access to the facility that will become our dojo come October 16th. Yup, hard to believe but we have an official day to open the doors of Capital Aikikai of Wisconsin.

I feel very grateful for the Wolfs (Wolves?) who came to help me all the way from Harvard and Scott Johnson from Aikido of Edgerton. They all generously volunteered their time to help me figure out how to best utilize the space.

We found the layout that works for the space. (It's tiny!) We managed to fit 14 tatami on the north side of the building. I think it would comfortably accommodate half a dozen people, which is incredibly optimistic. If more people join, we might have to also use the central portion of the room to accommodate the additional bodies.

Humble Beginnings

Here’s the crew proudly staring at the 14-tatami configuration

After cleaning the mats for the first time, we had a short class where we practice some kihon waza. At the very end gave tried ukemi for koshinage a try. We have a long way to go!

First trip to Japan

September 2024 • Written by Erwin Lares

I have been fortunate to train under a instructor who travels often. Leonard sensei has traveled to train in Japan ever since his own instructor, Akira Tohei sensei passed away in 1999. Over the years, Leonard sensei has forged a wonderful relationship with Funakoshi sensei in Yamagata.

This year I finally had the opportunity to join Leonard sensei on one of his trips. It’s hard to describe how transformational this trip has been for me. But’s here are some of the things that made this trip so memorable for me.

I had a superb group to travel with, all people who are accomplished aikidoists and whom I admire and follow. And I got to be their traveling partner! I had the rare opportunity to see how they conduct on and off the mat in a variety of circumstances. We trained, ate, and philosophize together for 2 weeks. I will treasure those memories forever.

I got to meet Funakoshi sensei, his family, and his students. I can honestly say I haven’t met more gracious hosts. Everyone went above and beyond with their efforts to make us feel welcome.

The training was arduous. I normally train twice a week. In Yamagata we did aikido four hours a day! Two hours in the morning and two in the evening. After the first class, Funakoshi sensei used Brandon and I exclusively as ukes as he demonstrated. I feel I learned so much in such a short period of time. The attention to technique and the change to train with so many highly-trained individuals pushed my aikido to its limits.

At the end of the first week, we traveled to Tokyo where Hombu Dojo, the aikido world headquarters are. The atmosphere was less familiar and casual. Everything felt very structured and organized with very little room to be spontaneous. I feel like that is to be expected; Hombu Dojo is, after all, the model dojo for what we all envisioned aikido to be. At Hombu Dojo I attended Waka sensei’s class. I also did Seki sensei’s, and Kobayashi sensei’s.