Aikido Northshore

In 1995 Lee Crawford Sensei opened Aikido Northshore in Kirkland and, with the help of her first students, built the mat the dojo still trains on. It's a family dojo teaching traditional aikido, a nonprofit whose instructors are all volunteers, and it's affiliated with the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU). The dojo's view of progress is plain: “it does not matter what level of strength you begin with, just that you try to advance a little bit in each class.”

Children (ages 5 to 11) and teens (ages 12 and up) have their own aikido classes, and there's a weekly karate class for kids. For adults there are seven aikido classes a week, spread across mornings, midday, evenings and Saturday. All levels are welcome at every class. Wednesday evenings have a special focus on beginners' techniques, and the Thursday class focuses on musubi (connection, blending). Betsy O'Donnell, the Dojo Cho, holds 5th Dan.

The second art here is Soshinkan Karate Jissenjuku, taught by Josh Drachman Sensei, who holds Rokudan (sixth dan) in aikido with ASU, trains under Kenji Ushiro Sensei and is one of two students allowed to lead Soshinkan classes in North America. Practice centers on traditional kata, Soshinkan's five basic kata and their applied techniques. Adult karate meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and the first Saturday of the month, and paying dues gives access to both aikido and karate classes.

All classes are open for free observation, so it's possible to watch before stepping on the mat. New students, adults and children alike, can then start with a three-class introductory special that includes a uniform jacket, pants and belt. The dojo is closed on federal holidays (unless classes are still on its schedule) and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.