History
Portsmouth Aikido was founded by Judy Ringer and a group of local residents interested in bringing Aikido to the New Hampshire Seacoast. With the guidance and support of Mitsunari Kanai Sensei, a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba, Portsmouth Aikido offered its first class in May of 1995. Relying on our base of tradition, lineage, and excellent instruction, we have offered Aikido classes to thousands of beginning and advanced students from around the world. In 2009, Ringer Sensei transferred her titles of Chief Instructor and Owner of Portsmouth Aikido to Aaron Cass. Under Cass Sensei's leadership, Portsmouth Aikido transitioned into a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization. In 2012 we built and moved into our own gorgeous new practice space with the support of our friends and members. In the future, we plan to offer more children's classes, women's self-defense and specialized weapons instruction to provide a broader range of programming for our members.
Specialties
We offer instruction in the traditional Japanese martial art of Aikido to young people and adults. Portsmouth Aikido has been in continuous operation since 1995, and in 2012 we opened our own practice space at 620 Peverly Hill Rd. in Portsmouth. Aikido, translated as