Aikido of Cincinnati is a non-profit dojo in Kennedy Heights teaching traditional Aikido, Shotokan Karate, and Kendo. Visitors are always welcome to come watch a class.
Aikido is a Japanese martial art founded by Morihei Ueshiba in the early 20th century. It teaches you to receive force without meeting it head-on — to redirect, blend, and resolve. It rewards patience and repetition rather than aggression, which is why people of nearly any age and build can train it well.
Our dojo has been part of Cincinnati for over fifty years. New students are always welcome. So is anyone curious enough to drop in and watch.
All three programs share the same training space and many of the same students. You're welcome to try any of them.
Our core program. Eight to twelve adult classes each week, plus children's classes. No prior experience needed — most members started as adults with no martial arts background.
Learn more →Traditional Japanese karate emphasizing strong stances, clean technique, and kata. Adult and youth classes throughout the week.
Karate at our dojo →The way of the sword. Kendo is the dynamic, armored sparring art; Iaido is the meditative practice of drawing and cutting.
Kendo & Iaido →Our youth program teaches Aikido to children with the same care and rigor as the adult program — adapted for younger bodies and shorter attention spans. The goal isn't to produce small fighters. It's to give kids a healthy, structured place where they can develop physically and mentally, learn to move with confidence, and practice respect as a daily habit rather than a lecture.
Students progress through five youth ranks before moving into the adult system. Parents are encouraged to be involved — we want to know what's going on at home and at school, because the lessons of the dojo are meant to travel.
About the youth program →Our head instructor, Charlie McGinnis Sensei, holds the rank of Nanadan (7th-degree black belt) and the title of Shihan, granted by the United States Aikido Federation. He has led Aikido of Cincinnati since 1986, and his own teacher, Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan, was a direct student of the founder of Aikido.
That lineage matters. It means what you learn in our dojo connects, teacher to teacher, back to the source of the art.
Meet our instructors →We're at 6620 Montgomery Road, Suite 3, in Kennedy Heights — about fifteen minutes northeast of downtown Cincinnati. Visitors are welcome at almost any class. You don't need to call ahead; just come a few minutes early so we can show you around.
"Whenever I move, that's Aikido."