Aikido of Champlain Valley

Our mission is to create a sustainable community and peaceable world through the practice and principles of the Japanese Martial Art of Aikido. 

"When you open your dojo, you will change people's lives." These words were spoken almost 30 years ago by Soto Buddhist Reverend Issho Fujita as he performed a Buddhist dedication ceremony at our grand opening.  

Aikido Champlain Valley first opened in 1997 in a little storefront in Winooski, Vermont, as one of the only 501c3 nonprofit martial arts schools (dojo) in Vermont, with the goal of providing youth at risk an opportunity to discover aikido. A few years later, we moved to our current dojo in Burlington, Vermont.  In 28 years, we have provided scholarships to hundreds of low income students, including many children from 1st American and refugee families. 

Dojo means "place of the Way" in Japanese, implying both a physical journey and an inward road to inquiry, discovery, and transformation.  Rather than a straight line, it is a flowing path, a watercourse way. Similarly, aikido’s dynamic and circular movements teach us how to blend with conflict, to flow and find harmony while maintaining our own balance. 

Please consider making a tax exempt donation that supports our programs, especially for local youth. With your financial support, we can continue to create opportunities for people of all ages to discover not just a martial art, but also a philosophy of peaceful conflict resolution and resiliency.

For more information about our programs and Flow, our online journal, visit us at www.burlingtonaikido.org

See you on the tatami! Thank you for your support,

Gassho (palm to palm),

Benjamin Pincus

Executive Director

Aikido of Champlain Valley