Harvard Aikikai began as Harvard Aikido Club, a recreation class in 1977 and the longest-standing martial arts club at Harvard. The club was officially founded by Eugene Taylor, then a resident at Harvard Divinity School, before he received his shodan from the late Kanai Sensei of New England Aikikai. At the start of the 2005-2006 school year, Taylor Sensei passed on the title of Chief Instructor to Sioux Hall, then a godan (fifth degree black belt) and a student of Kanai Sensei, an uchideshi of O’Sensei. Hall Sensei was a rokudan (sixth degree black belt) and held the title of shidoin (certified instructor). Upon her passing, Dolita Cathcart became the Chief Instructor, and is assisted by several yudansha (black belts) holding third and fourth degree black belts who continue the legacy of martial proficiency and artistry demonstrated by Kanai Sensei. At the end of 2017, Cathcart-sensei retired to become Chief Instructor Emerita. Daryl Muranaka became Chief Instructor at the start of 2018

The club established a close affiliation with the MIT Aikido Club under Dick Stroud Sensei, a relationship it maintains to this day. In 1981, the Club became an official dojo (school) of the United States Aikido Federation (USAF). Membership in the USAF and the resultant connection to the International Aikido Federation, allows students to attend seminars and camps in the US and abroad and connects students to the worldwide Aikido community.

Currently, Harvard Aikikai offers classes four times a week during the school year and closes during the winter, spring, and summer vacations. Classes are offered at Quadrangle Recreational Athletic Center (QRAC) in the Quad. Throughout the year we hold Aikido tests, seminars, and trips to other dojos in the area. Visitors are welcome to observe, and Aikidoists from other dojos are encouraged to communicate with club officers about attending classes.

Since one of the fundamental missions of the club is to enrich the cultural life of students and contribute to their inner development, Harvard Aikikai is always seeking to establish exchanges with other cultural groups as well as other martial arts clubs on campus, and welcomes everyone, regardless of his or her background in martial arts.