Aikido Yukon Association
Whitehorse 60° 43' 17.66" N, 135° 3' 17.76" W Sports Group Martial Arts
Aikido Yukon, based in Whitehorse, has been growing and evolving since its inception in 2002, moving from humble beginnings offering occasional after school classes in both French and English in school gyms to a few students, to leasing its own space for a permanent dojo and offering 18 hours/week of quality programming for children and adults in addition to special seminars and summer camps. In 2010 the club had 167 students.
The technical director, Gaël Marchand has 25 years of experience in Aikido, 15 years of teaching and received his Professional Coach Certification in Aikido in 1998 in France. Two of his adult students recently received their black belts (Shodan) from the Japanese Aikido Federation (Tamura Sensei) in France, clearly demonstrating the high quality of the program being offered in Whitehorse. The same quality teaching has also been offered in the communities by Aikido Yukon with over 20 community seminars organized over the last 8 years (in Haines Junction, Dawson, Carcross, Pelly Crossing and Teslin).
Since 2004 Aikido Yukon has been a non-profit association to promote Aikido, budo and Japanese culture. Classes are offered in both French and English.