Aikido And Children

Aikido is a great art for children to learn, I started at about 10 years of age and to be truthful was grateful that I did. I had a terrible temper and would fly off the handle for any little reason, always getting into fights in and out of school. It was when I started to learn Aikido that I started to have somewhere to vent my energy and aggression.

As I began to learn and train I started to at first without really knowing to control my temper, this in a sense was a godsend as my teachers and parents were very worried for me because they thought that I might end up in trouble, big trouble, I learned respect not just for other people but for myself. This can and is often the case not only in aikido but other martial arts also.

Children can learn aikido and most aspects of it, it is hard because we use every part of our body and have to co-ordinate movement with timing but most of all we have to make it fun, and that has a lot to do with the sensei (teacher).

We have to keep in mind when teaching that children are still growing and therefore their bodies are vulnerable when over-training, and training too hard can distort young bones. But children like adults like to achieve, to challenge themselves and it gives them confidence.

Because aikido is a martial art and if practiced incorrectly can be very dangerous it is of the utmost importance that we teach our children respect, not only for each other but their sensei, club and to act appropriately, otherwise their actions could have serious affects. Important make your class fun, give them praise if they train well, likewise tell them if they misbehave, play games instil a sense of worth and value in what they are doing. And in this way hopefully they will come to love aikido and practice it not only on the mat but in every part of their lives, as O Sensei had intended.