The Cleveland Aikikai is a not for profit Ohio corporation and was founded in 1978 by members of the Oberlin College Aikido Club. During the first few years, it occupied space on Euclid Avenue near University Circle, then a Junior High School in Cleveland Heights. For the next ten years, the Cleveland Aikikai continued to grow in a space near the intersections of Cedar and Lee Roads. The dojo moved to its present location in September of 1993.

Since its inception, the Cleveland Aikikai has been associated with the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba, an international organization of schools under the direction of Mitsugi Saotome Shihan. The Aikido Schools of Ueshiba is also associated with the World Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

The Cleveland Aikikai is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, ethnic group, religion, age or sexual orientation.