I miss aikido training

I stopped by the YMCA today. In Spanish it's the Asociacion Cristiana de Jovenes, but they call it "La Y", pronouncing the English "why" instead of the Spanish "ay-kEESE". You'll notice on the website there's a broken link to "Aikido", so I thought I'd investigate that, and maybe if they don't have an aikido class, if they'd like one. I also need some way to get some exercise, and the hills around my house are remarkably unappealing for running, between the endless deserted 15-degree streets and the occasionally quite cranky dogs. If there's a gym with lockers down in the Plan ("the plain", the flat area of town), I can change my clothes and either work out there, or go for a run along the water.

It turns out they haven't had an aikido class in over four years, but they do have ninjutsu, tai chi, jiu-jutsu (which I assume is the injury-inducing Brazilian kind that I'm not interested in), kendo, and tae kwon do. At US$50/month, it's not super-cheap, but if it helps me exercise, that's worthwhile. Plus, guilt-free long hot showers.

I told Oscar why I was going to the Y, and he asked if I could teach aikido at the school. We talked a bit about the equipment needed, about class size (he suggested 10, which is a perfect ballpark), and I told him that there's a certain amount of discipline and responsibility involved, because when training we need to be able to trust our partners to take care of us. He's going to look into the cost of suitable mats.

So that might be interesting.