How Do You Teach Aikido to Children?

By Peter Bernath, 6th Dan, Shidoin

[Editor's Note: This article is the first in a planned series on Aikido and children. It is written by Peter Bernath, who in addition to being Chief Instructor of Florida Aikikai and one of the senior instructors of the US Aikido Federation, is Co-Editor in Chief of Aikido Online.

Photos courtesy of Florida Aikikai]

For some reason, teaching Aikido to children is very challenging for many instructors. It's amazing that such little people can strike such fear in the hearts of so many big black belts. Even experienced Aikidoka who are excellent instructors for adults can become absolutely clueless when it comes to teaching children.

Today there are numerous books, videos and web sites devoted specifically to teaching Aikido to kids. A lot of the information they contain deals with "Aiki games", designed to teach kids Aikido movement and to hold their attention. Games can be fun from time to time but I think the best way to teach kids Aikido is simply to teach them Aikido. Aikido is fun to do whether you are eight years old or eighty. Aikido is supposed to be for people of all ages so why try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to teaching children?

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to assist Shibata Sensei when he was still living in Japan and teaching the children's class at Hombu dojo. Before the class began, I asked him what type of games he did with the kids. He looked at me somewhat surprised and said that he didn't play any games with them at all, he just taught Aikido. I remember the class was conducted about the same as a normal adult class and all the kids had a great time. I've structured my own children's class similarly ever since.

I began teaching children's class when we first opened Florida Aikikai in 1980. Over the years, both my children have practiced in the kid's class. My teenage daughter Madison is still training, which makes me feel less anxious about her eventually dating boys … in 20 years or so. Over the years I've made certain observations about teaching children, which I'd like to share. While I know a lot of this will be obvious to you, I hope you nonetheless will find something of benefit.

In terms of actual instruction, I've found that children learn best with minimal verbal explanations. They seem to easily pick up the techniques by simply watching and doing. For example, in teaching a forward roll, I just try to get them to do a somersault at first. I avoid giving any long technical explanations of what angle to roll or where to put their hands etc. After a few classes and a couple of pointers, they start doing Aikido type rolls simply by watching the other kids.

My goal with the children is for them to have fun while developing good basic Aikido skills. It then becomes an easy transition into adult class (although most of my kids enjoy being with their friends and are in no hurry to join the adults). I'm happy to let them be kids as long as they like.

We have testing and colored belts in the children's program similar to other martial arts. I believe it is important for kids to be rewarded for their progress, especially when their friends in other martial arts are getting trophies and colored belts. However, we try to not make it pressured and competitive. They get pushed enough in school, and in other sports and activities they're involved in. I don't want them to feel they have to test at a particular time or are in competition with each other. We emphasize that testing is beneficial because of the preparation and hard work that is put into it, not just because they are getting a new belt. We stress that Aikido is unique in being non-competitive and we try to have all the events in the dojo reflect that attitude.

Children's class, at Florida Aikikai, is conducted similar to an adult beginner's class. We usually begin with breathing meditation. I have the kids line up in seiza with their hands folded and thumbs touching. I tell them to concentrate on their breathing, counting up to ten and then repeating the process. When they realize their mind is drifting I tell them to resume counting their breaths. Basic meditation like this helps to calm and focus the kids.

After a short warm up of general stretching and wrist exercises, we practice tai sabaki and the rowing and ikkyo exercises. The kids like to count in Japanese during these exercises, quite loudly I might add. We also spend a lot of time on ukemi drills. They make two lines with the seniors going first so the newer students can see what to do. The drills include:

• small forward and backward rolls
• forward shikko with forward rolls
• backward shikko with backward rolls
• large standing rolls forward and backward
• forward roll, tenkan backward roll
• forward breakfall laying out (i.e. koshinage ukemi)
• forward breakfall and stand up (i.e. ukemi from projection)
• forward leapfrog breakfalls over each other's backs.
• forward and backward shikko with turns.