Children & Youth Aikido

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THIS SHOULD BE FUN!

Students enjoy the movement, tumbling and rolling exercises taught in every class. They learn to enjoy cooperation and to have fun without competing. They develop greater trust in themselves and in others. A combination of work and play make the practice truly "artful" (at least that's what one 6 year old decided).

Classes for Children & Youth are conducted in sessions that are 6 to 7 weeks long. Most classes are 50 or 60 minutes long. Students may attend 1 or 2 classes each week during the session. Changes in schedule may occur due to holidays and special events.

Classes are conducted in the most appropriate way for each age group. Students in all age groups learn the applicable techniques necessary for rank testing. At least some meditation and breathing exercises are used in training with students of all ages. Age grouping is flexible to accommodate the needs of particular individuals.

Children are often told to "calm down" and to "pay attention", but seldom shown how or why. We teach children how to calm down and show that calmness is a source of power. Paying attention is one way of doing what we call "extending ki", which connects us with other people and the things that we need. Learning calm attentiveness through specific exercises is the most basic training in Ki-Aikido. Practice improves children's ability to respond positively in all situations.

Children, ages 5 to 9
Young Children learn the basic movements and rolling exercises of aikido. They are taught the beginning throwing arts of Aikido. Games are often played to encourage students to practice the movements and do them correctly.

Youth, ages 10 to 14
Older Children train in a more structured setting with more focus on learning Aikido movements and techniques. Games are still often used and are more directly related to Aikido arts. Focus and calmness are taken into action and encouraged throughout the class time.

A Word About Teens
Teens as young as 13 may choose to start their training in the adult classes. Ideally, if we had the appropriate resources, we would have an Aikido program for 13 to 17 year-olds. Unless and until that happens, it seems that some do better in the Youth classes and some in the Adult classes. Kids who start Aikido at a younger age and continue to train often begin attending both Youth and Adult classes at age 14. They also attend special classes that have mostly adult students.