About us
August 28, 2007 — umnaikido
Chief Instructor
Patrick Riley
Patrick Riley, 4th degree black belt, has directed U of M Aikido since 1983. Practicing Aikido for over 28 years with 17 of those teaching. More to come about Patrick
Club President 2007-2008
Club President 2006-2007
Gulnara Minnigaleeva
About Gulnara: She is a graduate student at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Gulnara is from Russia. She is close to finishing her Master of Public Policy degree. Her major area of interest is in improving Age-Friendliness of the world and making it a better place for herself (when time comes) and others through the work of nonprofit organizations and civic engagement.
Her thoughts about Aikido: “I started doing Aikido back in Moscow three years ago. (Aikido is very popular in Russia), Ever since I think I need to do Aikido to survive. Being in class helps me to relax and switch from all my anxieties to concentrated body-energy-posture-graciousness-self awareness work. Yeah, all in one… I also believe that this habit of concentrated listening to my own body helps me now with learning movements in other sports, games, dances. Aikido is also a huge phylosophy. Some people translate “Aikido” as “the way of love”. You will understand why, when you do it for a while. And Aikidokas are just nice and fun people to hang out with!”
Facilities and Saftety Coordinator/Web Master
Kristoper Kirkland
About Kristopher: He is a undergrad I.T. student majoring in Computer Science and Physics.
His thoughts about Aikido: “I’ve only been doing Aikido since the start of the school year in 2006, but I already love it. Aikido practices are fun, they start off a little slow, but after a few weeks you’ll get done practicing a technique and realize you’ve been trying to catch your breath, it’s a nice supplement to my running. I choose Aikido over other martial arts clubs here at the U because I like being able to defend myself without needing to punch someone in the face.
