Seattle Kokikai Aikido

Self Defense Without Violence, for Adults and Teens

Kokikai Aikido is a modern martial art that offers a unique approach to self defense. Our self defense techniques don't require you to inflict harm in order to keep yourself safe. This takes practice to be effective. Fortunately training is also really fun! 

Take Control 

Taking control of challenging situations requires taking control of yourself. Kokikai Aikido is built on a foundation of principles that will help you stay relaxed, centered, positive and well-positioned to handle whatever challenges you face.

Join Us! 

Please get in touch to ask any questions and schedule a time to visit a practice. Sometimes we may need to limit how many beginners join at once, but we'd be happy to have you if there's room. You can join for a little while to learn some basic skills, or train for years to dive deeper into everything Aikido has to offer. We're a relatively small, non-profit, community practice group, allowing for individualized instruction and lots of training time with our Sensei and other senior practitioners. We welcome people of any background, ethnicity, belief, orientation and identity to join us! 


Practice Times and Locations

Times listed allow for changing clothes, setting up the spaces for practice, etc.

Sunday Mornings:  

Tuesday Evenings:  

Thursday Evenings:  

Quantum Location - Sundays

We practice at a dojo operated by Quantum Martial Arts. Our practice is not affiliated with our friends at Quantum, but they’ve been most generous in welcoming us to share their beautiful training space.

DASSdance Location - Tues/Thrs

Our practice is in coordination with DASSdance, Room 120 inside the MLK FAME Community Center. 

Membership, Dues and Scholarships

Membership dues are $100 per month. 

Additional family members in the same household can be added for $50 per month. 

Membership covers participation in all of our practices. In addition to monthly dues, commitment to regular practice and a small amount of additional support (such as through helping with cleaning or administrative tasks) are valued contributions from each of our members. Our dojo has no paid employees. All administration, instruction and other tasks are done on a volunteer basis by members.

Scholarships - We are a community-based, not-for-profit practice group with the intention of keeping our training widely accessible. If you are interested in participating but dues would create a financial burden, please inquire about a potential scholarship. 

Our Instructor

Sensei David Zeger began training at the Aikido Kokikai Southwest dojo in Tempe, Arizona in 1994. He began facilitating Aikido practices at the Arizona State University Kokikai Aikido Club in 1998 under the guidance and instruction of Veronica Burrows Sensei and David Nachman Sensei. Since moving to Seattle in 2000, he led practices regularly at the University of Washington Kokikai Aikido Club and a former Kokikai Aikido dojo in Seattle. Since 2004 he has continued his training and instruction through sharing practices with Kokikai Aikido practitioners in central Seattle. David Sensei is recognized as a Kokikai Aikido instructor by the Aikido Kokikai Federation. Some practices are also led by other senior dojo members, typically having more than a decade of practice experience.

Join Our Email List

Want to get involved but can't make it in to visit a practice yet? No problem! Join our email list to get info and reminders about Aikido in your inbox! You can also find us on Instagram.