THE ART
What Is Aikido?
Aikido is a Japanese martial art focused on balance, awareness, and self-defense without aggression.
Instead of meeting force with more force, students learn to move, blend, redirect, and stay centered under pressure. Training includes throws, pins, safe falling and rolling, partner practice, and exercises that build coordination, focus, strength, and calm. Aikido is not a competitive sport. There are no tournaments. Students train together so everyone can improve.
At Aikido of Park Slope, beginners are welcome. You do not need prior martial arts experience, unusual flexibility, or a certain body type to begin. You just need to show up, learn carefully, and practice at your own pace.
A LIVING MARTIAL ART
Practiced in Brooklyn since 1981.
Aikido of Park Slope is Brooklyn's oldest and largest Aikido dojo, founded in 1981. Our head instructor, Hal Lehrman, 7th Dan Aikikai, Shihan, leads a dojo rooted in serious training, respect, patience, and community.
APS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a member of the United States Aikido Federation. We offer over 20 martial arts classes per week for adults, kids, teens, and beginners at 630 Sackett Street, steps from the Union St R train.
THE MEANING OF AIKIDO
Three characters, one idea.
Aikido is composed of three Japanese characters, each carrying part of the practice.
Often translated as "the way of harmonizing energy": meeting conflict with awareness instead of panic, movement instead of resistance, and control instead of aggression.
THE ORIGINS OF AIKIDO
From classical budo to a peaceful purpose.
Aikido was developed in the early 20th century by Morihei Ueshiba, known respectfully as O-Sensei. Drawing from his deep experience in classical Japanese martial arts, especially Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, O-Sensei created a martial art that preserved the seriousness of traditional budo while pointing toward a more peaceful purpose.
Aikido trains the body through practical martial technique: wrist locks, arm pins, unbalancing throws, footwork, and ukemi, the art of falling and receiving techniques safely. But the deeper aim is not domination. It is protection, balance, and the ability to respond clearly under pressure.
LINEAGE
From O-Sensei to Brooklyn.
The spirit of Aikido passed from its founder through his students, and took root here in Brooklyn.
WHY AIKIDO STILL MATTERS TODAY
A different kind of training.
Modern life gives people plenty of reasons to feel tense, distracted, disconnected, or physically stuck. Aikido offers a different kind of training. It is active and physical, but not aggressive. It builds strength and coordination, but also awareness and calm.
It teaches self-defense, but also helps students practice how to move through conflict without becoming consumed by it. For many students, Aikido becomes more than exercise. It becomes a steady practice, a community, and a way to build confidence over time.
PRINCIPLES OF AIKIDO
What students practice.
These principles are not just ideas. They are learned concretely through practice, one class at a time.