With all the problems the world is facing today, is rethinking Aikido seminars really something worth investing energy in?

The practice of Aikido is, by its very nature, a daily path. It is through consistent work on the tatami, week after week, that practitioners build solid foundations for both technical practice and personal development: posture, centering, relationship with the partner, listening, and presence. Alongside regular Dojo practice, however, Aikido seminars have historically represented key moments for growth, sharing, evlution.

Today, in the face of cultural, demographic, and associative changes affecting society, a question emerges with increasing urgency: is it possible to rethink the concept of Aikido seminars, moving beyond a model based exclusively on intensive practice?

Any reflection on the future of seminars must start from a clear premise: daily and weekly practice remains the central pillar of every practitioner’s training. No extraordinary event can replace the patient cultivation proposed by Aikido for the complex psychophysical system that we are.

A seminar, therefore, should not be seen as an alternative to regular practice, but rather as an amplifier: a space where what is cultivated on one’s “home” tatami finds new interpretations, stimuli, and directions for development.

One of the main values of Aikido seminars is certainly the chance to meet different teachers, each with their own history, sensitivity, and teaching approach. Seminars also offer a chance to engage with different styles and technical interpretations, enriching the understanding of principles -provided there is sufficient openness to avoid investing time merely to confirm what one already knows (or thinks one knows).

Those who have attended a significant number of events know that practicing with aikidoka from different backgrounds creates new bonds and strengthens the sense of community.

This plurality is an integral part of Aikido’s global evolution and represents a precious resource, especially for a discipline that places relationship at its very center.

The classic seminar model -many hours of practice concentrated over one or more days- remains effective from a technical standpoint, but it also reveals certain limitations.

For example, the current model pays little attention to the different age groups and physical conditions of potential participants, effectively creating a selection that often excludes those considered too young or too senior.

Traditional Aikido seminars also leave little or no space for cultural reflection. This often applies even to teachers’ training events. At times, one has the impression that “teaching teachers how to teach” passes only through the tatami.

Moreover, the current economic situation exacerbates, within traditional seminar formats, the difficulties of access for those with time, financial, or logistical constraints.

In a changing social context, these aspects become increasingly relevant, and from the outside, seminars may appear as gatherings -more or less engaging- reserved for the same small circle of people.

Europe, like much of the Western world, is experiencing a progressive aging of the population. Within Dojos, this often translates into a growing presence of adult and senior practitioners, along with a reduction in generational turnover. This condition raises serious questions about medium-term sustainability and generates new needs related to health, injury prevention, and, more broadly, all issues connected to active aging -topics more commonly associated with wellness than with martial practice.

Rethinking Aikido seminars therefore also means responding to such transformations by creating more inclusive contexts suited to a heterogeneous community.

So what could be possible evolutionary paths for Aikido seminars?

First of all, we believe that an event can be immersive even without lasting several days. We have seen teachers profoundly influence and redirect the paths of hundreds of people in just four hours, just as we have experienced multi-day events without clear direction or impact.

From our perspective, in recent years we have witnessed initial attempts toward multidimensionality. At both regional and national levels, within the Italian Federation, a direction has been taken that increasingly combines cultural experiences with practice, moments of dialogue on principles and philosophy, and expanding spaces for exchange among teachers and practitioners.

This makes it possible to progressively introduce content dedicated to relationship management (and Dojo management itself), as well as to the construction of communities of practice and mutual support that are as healthy and responsible as possible. Seminars focused on communication and the transmission of values and principles enhance the competencies of all practitioners, because the responsibility for responsible transmission does not lie with the sensei alone.

This perspective highlights a third possible evolutionary trajectory, one that we personally feel very strongly about: the seminar as a space for valuing intergenerational exchange. Experience, values, and the real transmission of skills -not only technical but above all human -within a context where technique adapts to the various stages of life. All of this acts as a catalyst for a practice that ignites and connects people of different ages and conditions.

Finally, in recent years we have seen experiments in hybridization with other experiences (dance, theatre, self-defense, expressive arts…), which may point toward interesting future directions.

For the past year, we have launched the “Novum Experience Aikido Signature”, one-day seminars composed of two modules of two and a half hours each. They are not merely seminars that bring teachers of the highest technical and pedagogical level to the local community, but practical laboratories exploring these new directions.

It is inspiring to see at least four generations of aikidoka working together on the tatami, exchanging ideas, and sharing experiences. It is a small example of grassroots creation of the kind of society we would like to live in: open, well-prepared, and growing on shared values.

Even the lunch, organized at the heart of the venue, becomes an extension of the tatami. Conviviality is no less important than technique, and what is shared at the table often remains in the heart for a long time.

On a global level, Aikido is now practiced in dozens of countries, with a wide variety of schools and organizations. This spread has led to a natural cultural and technical diversification.

In this context, the seminar can become a space for intercultural dialogue, where Aikido is not only “practiced” but also questioned in relation to its contemporary meaning.

Rethinking the concept of seminars therefore likely means restoring depth and context to practice. Where today a seminar may appear as a tired repetition of a ritual, tomorrow it can become a “place” of intense and accessible practice, a “space” for reflection and dialogue, and thus a true laboratory of community and culture.

In a changing world, Aikido has the opportunity to continue evolving while remaining faithful to its principles, transforming seminars from simple technical events into complete educational experiences.