first aikido training sessions

The “Budokan” club was gathered unofficially in the nineties, when Domas J. came to study from Vilnius to Klaipėda University. Before coming to Klaipėda, he trained intensively and was interested in aikido in Vilnius. During his studies, Dom managed to rent a small hall in Klaipėda, where there was no central heating and tatami, and he had to train and do somersaults on the wooden floor. In winter, when I came to aikido training, the door handle and the windows were frosted over from the inside, there were no showers or any other amenities. There were many people who wanted to train, but when people saw the conditions in which they would have to exercise, many refused. As a result, there was only a small group of enthusiasts in the hall.

One of them was Mindaugas S., Dom often says that Mindaugas was one of his best, strongest students. He was the one who took Dom’s place when he returned to Vilnius after his studies to work and continue his aikido training.

Aikido martial art in a new hall

Some time later, in 2001, Mindaugas, together with Rimanta B., rented new premises where they started holding martial arts classes and officially opened the club. The two of them perfectly equipped the premises, arranged them, laid tatami mats, installed showers, changing rooms, and later a small sauna. At the moment, it is our old hall on the builders’ avenue. 2 a. Mindaugas trained intensively in the martial art of aikido until 2008, he was an example to everyone not only on the tatami, but also off it. He was also a role model for Dainis Š., who had great enthusiasm and attended aikido training as a student of Mindaugas from the age of fourteen.

club growth

Mindaugas always devoted a lot of time to work, sometimes even after training in the evenings he went not to rest like many of us, but to the office to continue working. Once, after the summer camp, Mindaugas said that he needed to earn a lot of money and then calmly practice aikido. It so happened that Mindaugas, encouraged by his company at the time, enrolled in one of the prestigious universities for a master’s degree in business. Due to the distance, he had to leave Klaipėda. Since Dainius was one of the most enthusiastic and intensively attending training at that time, Mindaugas decided to offer him to take care of the hall and train people in aikido. Dainius was very upset because he realized that his teacher, friend, one could say family member, was leaving and he had to choose: either to close the hall and lose the opportunity to improve, or to continue the work of Mindaugas as a completely inexperienced person. This martial art had already become a way of life for Dainius, so he did not give up and agreed to continue training. It was very embarrassing when one other person came or no one came to the hall, but still it was necessary to continue with the set goals.

Practically all students of Mindaugas scattered after the role model was no longer in the hall. Then Domas together with Gintarus and Edgar I. began to visit Klaipėda often, he would come from Vilnius or Kaunas for the weekend and help maintain the technical level in the hall. Also, everyone from Lithuania went together to the seminars of teacher Sensei Ulf Evenas in Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia and other countries. Weekend seminars were held approximately every three months, so little by little the technical level in the hall increased and after some time many of Mindaugas’ old students returned to train again. After his studies, Mindaugas himself returned to Klaipėda, used to visit the hall, but, unfortunately, he no longer found time for regular aikido training. Years passed, the number of students in the hall increased, and new enthusiasts appeared, one of them being Evaldas P. He was interested in various martial arts and had accumulated a lot of experience in martial arts such as karate, boxing, wrestling and others. However, he injured his knee while playing football, so after that he decided to try another martial art that does not involve leg kicks. He came to practice aikido in 2008 and was very successful. Evaldas did not miss training, he reached a high level quite quickly. After some time, Evalds and Dainius came up with the idea that another hall should be opened, because the old one could no longer accommodate people. So, in 2014, they opened another hall together, in the central part of the city, currently on Minijos st. 2, where new enthusiasts are trained by Evaldas.

2023 m. our club has expanded and we have opened another new hall in Kalvarijju str. in Vilnius. 125. 

The founder of Aikido used to say that the purpose of this Japanese martial art is to make all people like one family. At first, this goal seems strange, incomprehensible, but after a while, after many years of training and the common pursuit of mastery, the relationship becomes very close and this saying becomes a reality.

We are extremely grateful to our teachers: Mindaugas, Dom, Gintarus, Edgar and all other members of the club, without you there would be no aikido martial art in Klaipėda.