Founded in 2007 by Brian Levy, NOLA Aikido is a Japanese martial art form, “the purpose being to find creative ways to deal with conflict that don’t have to injure yourself or the attacker,” explained Brian. “It’s more creative than I’m going to annihilate the person who has been wrongheaded enough to attack me. I’m going to defend myself, but I’m also going to turn the other cheek a little bit and take care of the attacker as much as possible while still taking care of myself.”
 
Brian came up with the idea of opening NOLA Aikido after seeing the destruction of the community from Hurricane Katrina. “I started NOLA Aikido two years after the storm. I was living in Stockholm, Sweden and I felt called back like a lot of people. I didn’t realize how much I loved the city until it was endangered.”
 
He continued, “After the murders of Helen Hill, Dinerral Shavers, and others after Katrina, people were saying, ‘Screw the city. This is just not going to work.’ Something clicked in me and I felt I had to come back because I just couldn’t stand to live in a world without New Orleans. I came back to start a dojo (the place where aikido is practiced) because it was something that I thought I could offer to help people stay more balanced and find some sanity in the midst of so much insanity.”

From Japanese, the word aikido is “the way of harmonizing energy.” “NOLA Aikido is basically a community center of people getting together to practice a martial art,” added Brian. “A martial art is a meditative thing; it’s good for your body, mind, and spirit. You feel better after every practice. It’s like meditation in the sense that we return to the same kind of movement again and again, but you can always go deeper. It’s a way of transformation, a way of becoming a better person, getting more clarity in your life, mind, and consciousness.”
 
He continued, “I’m working to create a place for people from the age of 4 up to their 80s, men and women, as diverse as possible. Aikido is an ideal art for women because it’s not based on strength at all; it’s about how you use your body and really having good contact with how you are in yourself so that when the strike, kick, or grab comes you have yourself to work with. You’re not out of your center. You are in your balance and you can deal with the negative energy coming at you.”

Brian’s passion lies in providing this service to New Orleanians that incorporates both the physical and mental. “NOLA Aikido is a place to celebrate two of my passions, the first being aikido itself. Aikido is a path of transformation in terms of self-defense and the health, mental, emotional, and interpersonal benefits. My other passion is New Orleans. I came back here as a part of the recovery and I encourage people to get involved in the city and support the culture in whatever ways they feel moved.”
 
NOLA Aikido’s students include lawyers, physical therapists, nurses, teachers, and businessmen and women, among others. Anyone can benefit with a session or two at NOLA Aikido. “Aikido is unique in that it provides the health benefits, sense of balance, strength, harmony in yourself and with other people, and feeling comfortable in your skin. Oftentimes, you come in Aikido feeling out of sorts after a long day and almost universally, you feel better afterwards. We practice in a very gentle, mindful, and meditative way.”

If you want to try out NOLA Aikido to see how you like it, you’re more than welcome to try a class for free.
 
Brian concluded, “If you’re drawn to creative solutions to conflict in your own mind, between people, and ultimately at higher levels, NOLA Aikido’s the place. It’s fun with a community of wonderful people and I see that growing.”
 
For more information about NOLA Aikido, please visit the website and Facebook page.