Instructors

 

Andrew Baird 5th Dan, BAB Coach Level 3 & Young People
Started Aikido in 1973 at Reading and over the years received tuition from Ron Russell, Hayden Foster, Don & Mary Pybus, Bob Spence, Marian Mucha. Started teaching in 1978 at Hazel Grove Sports Centre and then in Mirrlees in Stockport. Opened Trafford Aikido Club in 1989 at Seamons Moss Community Centre moving later to Woodfield Road and then to St John's Church in 2000 and Altrincham Leisure Centre. Held the Coaching Liaison Officer position with the BAB 1989 to 1999

Enjoy teaching aikido - its a skills obtainable to all I find it rewarding to see students progress and grow both in aikido stature and in self confidence on and off the mats. Aikido I see as an important life skill to be shared with those who wish to try and grasp it. It's traits of blending and non aggression serve well off the mat.

Sue Baird 3rd Dan, BAB Coach Level 3 & Young People
I started Aikido in 1981 at the Mirrlees Club in Stockport. At this club my coaches were Andrew Baird Sensei and Keith Downs Sensei.

Mirrlees was a Lancashire Aikikai Club so I was also instructed by Marian Mucha Sensei the Principal of the Lancashire Aikikai and Bob Spence Sensei who was Chief Instructor.
I achieved 1st Dan in November 1991and was graded to my present grade of 3rd Dan in November 2000. Recognised as a coach by the MAC (Martial Arts Commission) in August 1990 and have attended many of the Lancashire Aikikai's internal courses to achieve Teacher status within the Association. Hold the BAB Coach Award and Coach (Children) Awards and the BAB Senior Coach Award.

Over the years I have attended many courses and seminars taught by the top Sensei's in Britain as well as those taught by Japanese teachers.

Chris Shepherd 3rd Dan, , BAB Coach Level 1 & Young People
In 1983 I was a special needs teacher in a very good secondary school. Like any community, the school contained a few challenging individuals and after a particularly large youngster threatened to punch me, I wondered what I would have done if he had carried out his threat. From a mixture of curiosity and self preservation I went on a two day women's self-defence course and found that the parts that intrigued me most were those that came from aikido - the first time I had heard the name. A colleague put me in touch with her brother-in-law, Andrew Baird Sensei . I was immediately hooked and have continued my training while raising a family and changing careers. From early days, aikido gave me an extra helping of confidence - I knew I had strategies to deal with or (even better) to avoid aggression.

In teaching aikido, I aim to share the enjoyment and exhilaration that comes from its combination of physical and mental exertion.

Aikido history: Started in 1983. Taught by all Lancashire Aikikai teachers but principally Andrew. Acheived 1st Dan on 11/2/95, 2nd Dan (27/11/99) 3rd Dan (Nov-04). BAB Coaching award - Coach obtained in 1998.

Chris Wallace 3rd Dan, BAB Coach Level 1 & Young People
I started my Martial Arts training in 1975 at the age of 20 with Shotokan Karate, having had a brief spell at Judo in my late teens. This was the time of the Bruce Lee movies when everyone had to have a go at one or other of the Arts. My first three years were under the direction of Kowaswe Sensei, which gave me a good basic grounding. I then had a 3-year break, and recommenced with a spell at Wadoryu and Shukakai Karate before returning to Shotokan and taking 1st Dan in 1989 under Kato Sensei .

I started Aikido with Andrew Baird Sensei at Oldfield Brow, Altrincham in 1990. I had reached a plateau in my Karate training and had always had Aikido at the back of my mind as something special. I attended a demonstration in Birmingham in the late 70's and remember being awe struck by the sensei (I don't know which Association) dispensing several Ukes with continuous Kokyo. I intended this to be a brief spell to enhance my Karate and 11 years later I am still here, having taken 1st Dan in 1997 under Mucha Sensei and 2nd Dan in 2000 under Spence Sensei . Now graded 3rd Dan Nov-04. I hold the BAB Coach Award.

Also for my sins I am the Association representative for our governing body the British Aikido Board. I attend several meetings a year, which gives me the opportunity to meet many famous (and infamous) Aikido names. Now setting up the Marple Club 2008


Lawrence Robinson 3rd Dan, BAB Coach Level 1
Ever since I left school I wanted to train in a martial art, but my work and travelling hindered me a lot. It wasn't until I returned to the UK in 1990 that I started looking properly. I didn't want a sporty martial art or trophies and badges, but one with the true Budo spirit.

I found this in Aikido. I went along on my own to Altrincham Leisure Centre one Sunday evening in a track suit and simply joined in. It was a very friendly club and I was made to feel very welcome by the others. I trained under Andrew Baird mostly and Graham Harrison. They had been trained by Marion Mucha, Principal of the Lancashire Aikikai, a position now held by Bob Spence.

To this day I give out the advice Mucha Sensei gave me: "Practise, practise, practise. It takes time but it is worth it." 1st Dan achieved on 15/12/1996 - I became 2nd Dan in November 2000; 3rd Dan in Nov-04. I have passed all the relevant teaching qualifications (BAB Coach Award) and enjoy training more than ever. I was 33 years of age when I first stepped into that class in my track suit, and I am still learning! Andrew Sensei is still teaching me and the club is as friendly as ever.


Hephzi Yohannan 2nd Dan, BAB Coach Level 1 & Young People
Favourite film: the Seven Samuri, by Akira Kurosawa, which I was taken to see when a child. Previous Martial Art: Fencing. First heard about Aikido in 1979. After ten years searching and moving house I went to Andrew Baird's Sensei opening night of what became the Trafford Aikido Club, in the Lancashire Aikikai.

Studied under Andrew, Graham and Marion Mucha (founder of the Lancashire Aikikai) Senseis. Also with Bob Spence Sensei (Current Principal) and other Instructors in the Lancashire Aikikai. Became Assistant Coach in 1994, and 1st Dan in 1997 - 2nd Dan in 2002 and now hold the BAB Coach Award.


Nick Alderson 1st Dan, BAB Coach Level 1
I first started practising Aikido in 1977, probably before some of our members were born, so the moral of this piece must be “never give up”! As a student at Reading University, I practised regularly for 3 years (I seem to remember the Reading Club was affiliated to Foster Sensei's Club at Heathrow), but when I started work in London I couldn’t find a club where I felt “comfortable”. I practised a few times at a large dojo on Fulham Road, Kensington, but because I didn’t recognise anyone form week to week and as the style was quite robust, I didn’t develop trust in the other students’ intentions and drifted away from Aikido until I moved to Manchester in 1990.

So several years after having last stepped onto the mat, when I saw a small poster in Altrincham Library advertising Trafford Aikido Club, and knowing the , Andrew Baird Club’s Sensei, from many years before, I decided to rekindle the flame. I immediately found a very welcoming club practising a style with which I felt familiar, so settled in. But for many years, using the excuse of family and work commitments, I only practised once a week and found that I “plateaued” at 3rd kyu; this became frustrating. However I plodded on until about 1998 when, taking my 2nd kyu grading, I hurt my back. The doctor prescribed rest and physiotherapy, but every time I started practising again, the problem would return.

At that time I thought I would never practise again, but Chris Wallace suggested I should visit a chiropractor, who literally clicked something back into place. I was practising again within weeks and although occasionally troubled with back ache, fortunately I haven’t had to have more treatment. Returning to the mat, I made a commitment to myself to practice at least twice a week and immediately made progress resulting in being awarded my first Dan grade in December 2002.

So what have I learned from over 25 years of practice?

Firstly, never give up; treat all breaks as temporary, even if you don’t know when you’ll be returning. Secondly, don’t consider the continuous and repetitive practice of basic irimi and tenkan moves as irrelevant to higher grades. These movements are the foundations on which more complex moves are built, and the deeper those foundations the higher you can build upon them. And finally, always welcome beginners with a smile, when practising with them remember how you felt when you first started and learn from them; someone no doubt once had to show you patience.


Steve Whittle 1st Dan, BAB Coach Level 1

Neil Wright 1st Dan, BAB Coach Level 1