Message from the chair – April 2019
2018 was a significant year for the UKA. It started with a member consultation in Bicester about organisation planning, followed by committee changes at the AGM. My appointment as chairperson came out of that.
The previous committee have/had a strong desire to see more people involved in the UKA and I was keen to support this, which is why I’m here. I’ve had success with my own club and professional experience in leading teams, something that can help us. Likewise, I fully support this direction and want more people involved.
As a quick introduction I joined the UKA 20+ years ago after practicing at Kai Shin Kai and BAF clubs before moving to London. I was a member of 2 different UKA clubs before starting my own, all this moving around came from moving with my job.
It’s a few months in since the last AGM and what have we achieved? Here’s a few highlights:
It’s not all been good, the passing of Peter Brady earlier in the year affected us. On a personal note I remember a discussion with Peter at Summer School 2017 about the future of aikido. Peter’s view was to be more forthright in promoting aikido which resulted in his mini-interview on our YouTube channel.
Back on to achievements, we are also very proud to announce the UKA have been invited to the All Japan Aikido Demonstration in May. This is huge recognition to be invited to a highly prestigious event, in Japan.
We have more activities in the pipeline led by a number of volunteers, we’d like to do even more so looking help from members of any age or aikido grade. Social media or writing news articles would be a preferred set of skills but the most important thing is willing to contribute a couple of hours per month in helping. If it’s something you could help with or you have any other views you'd like to share, I’d be happy to hear from you! Email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mark