Courses and Events

Cardiff Spring Course (April 2010)

This year is a special year for our club, as it is the 40th year that our own Bernard Harding Sensei has been practicing Aikido. There will be a weekend course held at Morganstown Village Hall to mark this occasion [ taught by Bernard Harding Sensei (6th Dan) ] on

Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th April

The course times are:

Saturday  2.00pm - 5.00pm

Sunday    10.00am - 2.00pm

The course will cost £20 for the weekend. As usual there will be a meal arranged for the Saturday evening. Details TBA.

There are a limited number of spaces available on the course. To ensure there is enough room for everyone to practice safely we are asking for a refundable £10 deposit (payable on booking). To book a place and for any other enquiries, please contact the club secretary Richard Belcher. To pay the deposit (and also to find out about how to pay) please contact the club treasurer Ian Rees. When booking, it would be appreciated if you could also indicate whether you have a preference for going to the meal or not. For details on how to reach us, please go to the 'Venue and Times' section of the website.

Please bring along proof of insurance.

NAF Dan Grade Preparation Courses (Kuro Obi Geiko) 2010

These courses are designed for those who are thinking of taking a Dan grade examination. They will cover all Dan grades. There will be places available for kyu grades who can be expected to maintain the expected pace and standard of practice, but are not seeking to grade this year.

The weekend course times are Saturday (14.00 - 17.00) and Sunday (10.00 - 13.00)

Upcoming dates:

February 27th & 28th - Open Course & NAF meal

March 27th & 28th

April 24th & 25th

May 29th & 30th

June 26th & 27th

For further information please visit templegatedojo.org.uk

Summer School 2010

This year's Summer School will be held from Saturday 14th August to Friday 20th August.

This is an open school and all grades of students are welcome as are guests from outside the Federation. The Federation takes over the sports hall at the school for the week and lays down a full set of tatami. Teaching is by the national coaches, Mr Mike Narey (8th dan) and Mr Bernard Harding (6th dan).

Booking for Summer School must be made in advance to ensure accommodation is available on arrival. As attendance has increased steadily and there is a limited amount of space on the tatami it may well be that those who do not book sufficiently early may discover that they are turned away for simple lack of mat space.

Online Booking for Summer school 2010 is available unil 7th August. Please visit the NAF website for further details and to make a booking.

Aikido Gakko Ueshiba Christmas Meal 2009

This Christmas meal was booked for Saturday 19th December at La Boheme Italian Restaurant in Charles Street, Cardiff. The food was reasonably priced and everyone enjoyed themselves as much as possible before moving back to O'Neil's for more drinks at the end of the evening. Pictures are in the gallery.

AGU Winter Grading Course 2009

We held our club Winter gradings on Sunday 13th December. Thank you to everyone who attended and helped make it a memorable event. Congratulations to those who were awarded a grade this time: Craig Thompson - 1st Kyu; Tony Brown - 1st Kyu; David Hibbs - 3rd Kyu; Paul Jordan - 5th Kyu and Zoe Last - 5th Kyu.

Cardiff Course October 2009

There was a course held on 24th and 25th October 2009 at Morganstown Village Hall, Cardiff taught by our own Bernard Harding Sensei. We all enjoyed ourselves and celebrated by going out for a meal on the Saturday night in the Thai Lounge restaurant. A special Dan grading event was held during the course and congratulations go to Max Graham, who was awarded Shodan (first degree blackbelt). Thank you to everyone on the panel who made the event possible. Pictures are now available in the photo gallery.

Summer School 2009 - 15th - 21st August

Summer School 2009 was our 6th year at Radley College. It stayed warm and sunny for most of the week, with only one day bringing rain for part of the morning. Dan Gradings were held on the Thursday afternoon and this year four people were awarded their Nidan (2nd Degree black belt) and two their Shodan. Congratulations to those who were awarded their Dan grades this year! Out of these were our own Richard Belcher, Robert Brown and Gabriel Gallagher (all awarded Nidan). The annual NAF meal was held at the Bowyers Arms. This year was especailly well attended by members of the club, with most of those who went staying for the whole week. I'm sure I speak for us all in saying that we all enjoyed ourselves and are happy that we were able to be there.

Cardiff Course May 2009

Our open course held over the weekend of 23rd and 24th May 2009 was again held at our usual venue of Morganstown Village Hall. The meal on the Saturday evening was at the Thai Lounge in Whitchurch . The restaurant was a new venue for us, but one which we were very pleased with. Unfortunately there were no pictures taken at the meal due to someone leaving their camera in the car...so if anyone has any photos of the eveining I'd be grateful if they would be kind enough to send them to them to the webmaster at aikido@cowbridge.plus.com

Cardiff Course October 2008

We held a course with Sensei Bernard Harding (6th Dan) on 25th and 26th October 2008. The course took place at Morganstown Village Hall and was very well attended. As usual there was a meal organised on the Saturday night.

Club Demonstration - 6th September 2008

To celebrate Morganstown Village Hall's 50th Anniversay our club was asked to take part in a variety concert that took place on Saturday 6th September 2008 at 7.30pm. The evening was a tremendous success and we were pleased to contribute to what was a very enjoyable occassion. An article written about the event in, "The Radyr Chain" mentioned our demonstration saying, "There was an amazing display by the Aikido group which brought gasps from the audience". An online article was also written and placed on the Radyr and Morganstown website.

Summer School 2008 - 16th - 22nd August

This year was very well attended by members of the club. Congratulations to those who were awarded their Dan grade!

Paul Hibberd - Sandan; Ian Rees - Shodan; George Babos - Shodan; Maciej Grzybowski - Shodan.

Grading Course July 2008

Aikido Gakko Ueshiba held a course on Saturday 12th July at Morganstown Village Hall, Cardiff with our own Sensei Bernard Harding. Club gradings took place at the end of the course. Congratulations to those who graded successfully and a big thank you to our friends who came to visit us from as far away as Brighton.

Rhiwbina Festival 2008

Aikido Gakko Ueshiba put on a demonstration at this year's Rhiwbina Festival, held on Saturday 5th July. For anyone local to the area this was a good opportunity to come and see us demonstrate. There were many other interesting events on throughout the day, including a balloon race and live singing! Luckily the rain held off just long enough for us to finish our demonstration. Pictures will be put up on the site under the club photo section as soon as possible.

Brighton course 2008

Held on the weekend of 12th and 13th April, we were again blessed with fine weather and the chance to meet up with our good friends from Brighton. Pictures will be added to the gallery.

NAF Open Course January 2008

To kick start the New Year there was an open course held on 26th and 27th January at Templegate Dojo by Sensei Bernard Harding. Photos in the gallery are here.

NAF Christmas Party 2007

The Christmas party was held at Templegate Dojo (Bristol) in aid of the Templegate Dojo relocation fund. The party was a great mix of a live DJ (complete with a laser light show, smoke machine and foam!), bar and excellent catering. It was nice to see so many different (and familiar) faces and to speak (loudly) with people who I'd met on courses and catch up on what's been happening since. Special mention has to be made of all those in fancy dress. Some of the costumes were truly excellent, including a reindeer, a policeman, the Christmas fairy and the Three Kings from afar; Balthazar, Melchior...and Henry VIII !

Apologies if I missed anyone out. If you want to show just how brilliant your costume was though, you can send in a photo of yourself and ask for it to be shown in our gallery. emails to: secretary@aikidocardiff.org.uk

Aikido Gakko Ueshiba Cardiff Course 2007

Our annual course, taught by Bernard Harding Sensei (6th Dan). This course was held on the 24th and 25th of November and was thoroughly enjoyed by all who were there. Despite the colder weather and an international Rugby match working against us, it didn't stop people making the journey from as far away as Brighton and Wexham. A big thank you to all who attended and helped make the course another special event for us. Photos can be seen in the gallery.

Summer School 2007

Summer School 2007 was held between 11th - 17th August and was the fourth to be held at Radley College, near Oxford. Teaching was organised with Senseis Mike Narey (8th dan) and Bernard Harding (6th dan), as well as Sensei Paul Kesrouany (3rd Dan) who demonstrated some weapons practice with the Jo and Bokken. There was also a "stretching" class given by Paul, who was also generous enough with his time and skills to attend to those of us who were in need of his healing touch. Thank you Paul! Summer School wouldn't be the same without you.

Congratulations to those who were awarded their Dan grades this year! Nine people were awarded their Shodan and one his Sandan. There were also a few who were awarded their Yondan. Congratulations to Senseis Mike Hurley, Richard Elliott and Daren Sims! I think I may be correct in thinking that that this year was a first as far as Shodan gradings go, as we had a father and daughter both take their Shodan at the same time! If I'm wrong about that then please let me know about it - the Templegate forums are the place to go.

NAF Open Course July 2007

Held on 21st / 22nd July. This was a last chance for everyone to get together before Summer School.

Brighton course 2007

This annual course held by Sensei Bernard Harding in Brighton was held on the weekend of the 17th and 18th March. It was another weekend of fair weather and good company as the dedicated and the new made their way from around the country to arrive at Portslade Leisure Centre. This year saw the sad departure from the usual Thai restaurant the Lum Thai to the new (and at time of writing, still in business) Aumthong Thai Restaurant. Pictures are (as usual) in the photo gallery.

NAF Open Course February 2007

A course held on the 3rd / 4th February at Bristol Templegate Dojo. It was a happy occassion where people met with friends and enjoyed the chance to practice with members from other clubs. It was also an exhausting experience for some, after an extended period of over-indulgence over Christmas and the New Year!

Aikido Gakko Ueshiba Cardiff course 2006

This course was held by our club in Cardiff with Sensei Bernard Harding (6th Dan). As the first course to be held by us in Cardiff for a while, we were very pleased to be a part of what turned out to be a very enjoyable weekend. The venue of the Bishop of Llandaff School was new to us, but turned out to be an ideal venue to hold the course. We were not without some teething problems though - not having arranged for use of the locked room with the light switches in, we were all intrigued by the training possibilities presented to us as we squinted to make each other out in the November afternoon twilight! See the group picture in the photo gallery and try to imagine what it was like before it was touched up in photoshop...

Summer School 2006

Summer School 2006 was held on Saturday 12th - Friday 18th August 2006 at Radley College near Oxford. The Federation took over the sports hall at the school for the week and laid down a full set of canvas-covered tatami. Teaching was by the national coaches, Mr Mike Narey (8th dan) and Mr Bernard Harding (6th dan). This was the third year that the NAF summer school has been held at Radley College and for good reason. A quiet and beautiful location, the grounds of the college hold sports fields, a golf course, a duck pond, as well as an indoor swimming pool and other facilities. After a hard day of practicing Aikido and enjoying the local facilities most of us chose to go down to the local pub, the Bowyers Arms, which was a quick ten minutes walk away. The meals at the college were well catered for as always, with the food being of a very high standard.

The NAF dan gradings took place on the Monday. Three people were awarded their Shodan (first degree black belt) including our own Richard Belcher. Sensei Bernard Harding was also awarded his Rokudan (6th Dan). Congratulations to them both!

The annual NAF dinner took place on the Wednesday. Photos from this and the rest of the week's activities can be found in the photo gallery

NAF open course (July 2006)

The NAF open course held on the weekend of 29th and 30th July 2006 was an enjoyable one. It took the place of the NAF Dan grading weekend that instead took place at summer school. Pictures can be seen in the photo gallery.

Brighton (April 2006)

The Brighton course held on the 8th and 9th April 2006 was a great success. As usual, many people turned up to practice with old friends and to practice under the direction of our own Sensei Bernard Harding. The traditional meal in the Thai restaurant (Lum Thai) was up to the usual high standard and our friends in Brighton who organised the course were as hospitable as ever. There was a good "energy" in the practice over the weekend and a great atmosphere of friendship and enjoyment of practice. A special thank you must go to our friends from Hungary who came over to visit us once more. Pictures from the weekend can be seen here.

 NAF open course (January 2006)

Click here to see some pictures of the NAF open course held on the weekend of 21st and 22nd January 2006. It was attended at the Bristol Templegate Dojo and taught by Michael Narey (8th Dan) and Bernard Harding (6th Dan). There was a large turnout on both days. Most people attending on the Saturday met down the local pub after training for some much needed refreshment.