Aikido Shuurin Dojo,LLC | Application Preview
Aikido Shuurin Dojo, LLC is applying for a government grant to cover its monthly rent for the next year due to significant losses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has greatly affected student enrollment. The funding would enable the dojo to stabilize and rebuild its student base during these challenging times.
The dojo focuses on traditional martial arts, specifically Aikido, which is a self-defense style that emphasizes using an attacker’s energy and balance rather than relying on physical strength. Their unique Women's Self Defense program caters to a wide range of women, teaching techniques that don’t involve striking. The Dojo also aims to expand its services to local educational institutions and healthcare facilities through a specialized program called Safe Hands Healing Hands, designed to teach healthcare providers and educators self-defense while respecting their clients' dignity.
Despite the presence of many martial arts schools in the area, Aikido Shuurin Dojo maintains a competitive edge by offering the most popular children's Aikido class, taught by a licensed school teacher, which is a rarity among local Aikido schools. The dojo prides itself on its low-pressure learning environment, absence of contracts, and a program that allows for growth at an individual pace. Additionally, they provide a month of free classes.
While larger competitors, such as Tactical 88 and Damsel in Defense, focus on more traditional or product-based self-defense methods, Aikido Shuurin Dojo's approach differentiates itself by offering compassionate and easy-to-learn techniques. Their classes are accessible to individuals of all shapes, sizes, and abilities, filling a niche not typically covered by other martial arts organizations in the region. Overall, the dojo proposes that their innovative programs uniquely meet the self-defense needs of their community.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 45-1156057
Location: Omaha, NE, United States
Length of Operation: 9
Number of Employees:
Annual Gross Income:
Annual Gross Expense:
Open to Loans: NO
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Funding Usage
Our request is for funding simply to pay our monthly rent for the next year. COVID-19 has decimated our small business and drove our students away. A 12 month grant would help us to rebuild our student base and survive the next 6 to 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Business Plan
We will continue to grow our base of students, both adults and children, teaching traditional martial arts. Our Women's Self Defense program is unique! We have offered our classes to local schools in the past and our plan is to continue to offer those services to other educational institutions and expand into other businesses as well. Prior to COVID we developed a new program called Safe Hands Healing hands to teach self defense and self respect to health care providers and educators. Our plan is to offer this service to local hospitals, health care facilities, and adult care communities. We teach an art called Aikido to adults and children. It is a self-defense martial art that does not involve punching and kicking, rather using the other person's balance and energy against them. This falls within the Zero Tolerance Policy of schools and business. Our Women's Self Defense program is unique! There is no other program like this in the country that we know of. It is a 'one size fits all' program for women of all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Our program does not teach punching and kicking which rely on muscle and force. Our unique program relies on small pinching and twisting to simple 'sting and get away'. We have taken these concepts and applied them to our Safe Hands Healing Hands program which enables health care providers and educators to defend themselves while being able to maintain self-protection and dignity of their clients. This is another evolving program we have developed that is unique in its approach to providing self-protection. We know of no other program like it. Our school provides self-defense classes for a large population that desperately needs it. Our martial arts classes are defensive in nature and provide a niche for students not wanting to strike offensively to protect themselves. There needs to be a forms of self-defense that is simple, effective, easy to learn, and expresses compassion. Our unique programs offer this and more!
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Self Identified Competition
There are so may martial arts schools in our area, but not many of them teach Aikido. There are a handful of Aikido schools in the area as well. Tactical 88 is a big name in Omaha an they teach multiple self defense classes and we often get compared to them. Damsel in Defense is another growing name in our area that we often get compared to as well. With the many martial arts schools in the area we are one of the few Aikido schools. Al martial arts are not the same. It is like comparing apples to oranges. Both are fruit just different kinds. Most people are familiar with Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, and Jujitsu. These are more offensive, striking type of arts. Our martial art, Aikido, is different in that it is a self-defense, self-protection martial art that does not rely on kicking or punching, but rather using the attackers force and balance against them; Acknowledge the attack, Accept the force/energy, an then Redirect that attack or energy. Compared to the other Aikido schools in the area we offer the most popular children's class. We have licensed state of Nebraska school teacher that instructs our children’s class, and she does a phenomenal job. This is something no other Aikido school has and people often refer their kids to our school because of that. Our adult's aikido class is different simply because we are a low-pressure school that allows our adults students to grow and learn at their own rate. Other schools have a blocked program that must be followed. Our school does not have contracts which is unique in the martial arts world. Also we offer 1 moth of free classes, which is also unheard of in the martial arts community. We believe in making an investment in our students before they make an investment in our school. Most martial arts schools offer just martial arts classes. We offer that for children and adults, but also offer other programs that offer Self-Defense for women and other programs to help with health care professionals. We are diverse and forward thinking in our approach to self-protection. Tactical 88 teaches traditional self-defense classes with the guy in the padded suite that women are allowed to punch and kick. They also teach how to sue guns as self-defense. We do not teach how to use weapons for self-defense because there are too many places people go where weapons are not allowed; schools, stores, public parks, etc. Most self-defense classes that involve punching or kicking are designed for younger women who are in great shape. Certainly not a program for my mother or even my sister. Our program offers a ‘one size’ fits all approach to self-protection. Our system does not rely on muscle or force but rather simple pinching and twisting techniques. Damsel in Defense mostly sells self-defense products like pepper spray, hand held tools to punch people with, or alarms, screaming devices to alert everyone around them. The problem is most of these tools or devices are at the bottom of a women’s purse. Our Safe Hands Healing Hands program for health care providers and educators is unique and we know of nothing comparable in the area. All of the programs from our competitors serve a purpose. We believe in ‘A little bit of something is better than whole lot of nothing.’ We believe our programs are different and fill a niche outside the normal concepts of self-protection. Compared to the other Aikido schools in the area we offer the most popular children's class. We have licensed state of Nebraska school teacher that instructs our children’s class, and she does a phenomenal job. This is something no other Aikido school has and people often refer their kids to our school because of that. Our adult's aikido class is different simply because we are a low-pressure school that allows our adults students to grow and learn at their own rate. Other schools have a blocked program that must be followed. Our school does not have contracts which is unique in the martial arts world. Also we offer 1 moth of free classes, which is also unheard of in the martial arts community. We believe in making an investment in our students before they make an investment in our school. Tactical 88 teaches traditional self-defense classes with the guy in the padded suite that women are allowed to punch and kick. They also teach how to sue guns as self-defense. We do not teach how to use weapons for self-defense because there are too many places people go where weapons are not allowed; schools, stores, public parks, etc. Most self-defense classes that involve punching or kicking are designed for younger women who are in great shape. Certainly not a program for my mother or even my sister. Our program offers a ‘one size’ fits all approach to self-protection. Our system does not rely on muscle or force but rather simple pinching and twisting techniques. Damsel in Defense mostly sells self-defense products like pepper spray, hand held tools to punch people with, or alarms, screaming devices to alert everyone around them. The problem is most of these tools or devices are at the bottom of a women’s purse. Our Safe Hands Healing Hands program for health care providers and educators is unique and we know of nothing comparable in the area. All of the programs from our competitors serve a purpose. We believe in ‘A little bit of something is better than whole lot of nothing.’ We believe our programs are different and fill a niche outside the normal concepts of self-protection. Compared to the other Aikido schools in the area we offer the most popular children's class. We have licensed state of Nebraska school teacher that instructs our children’s class, and she does a phenomenal job. This is something no other Aikido school has and people often refer their kids to our school because of that. Our adult's aikido class is different simply because we are a low-pressure school that allows our adults students to grow and learn at their own rate. Other schools have a blocked program that must be followed. Our school does not have contracts which is unique in the martial arts world. Also we offer 1 moth of free classes, which is also unheard of in the martial arts community. We believe in making an investment in our students before they make an investment in our school.
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