Congratulations to all Aiki Kids and Aiki Teens who graded at the end of Term 1 2019. Scroll down for pictures! Those promoted are: 10-kyu: Oliver 9-kyu: Harriet, Neave, Amelia, Elsa and Hannah 8-kyu: Jay Other students made very positive progress towards their next grading. Students who joined us late in the term can look forward to their first grading… Read more →
Last classes for 2018 and first classes back in 2019. Aiki Kids and Teens: classes concluded Mon 17 Dec. Classes recommence for Term 1 2019 on Mon 4 Feb. Aikido adults: last class Thu 20 Dec. Classes restart formally Mon 7 Jan. Get in touch if you are interested in additional informal training in the meantime. Atemi-jutsu: last class Sat… Read more →
One of the challenges for our Aiki Kids and Teens (not to mention adults) is mastering the Japanese terms and phrases we use to facilitate learning aikido. ‘Onegaishimasu’ is a common phrase in Japanese, used in everyday life, and an equivalent of ‘please’ in English. Here’s an easy way to practise: say ‘on air guy she muss’ emphasising only the… Read more →
Congratulations to everyone who graded at the end of Term 3! Aiki kids and teens classes resume for Term 4 on Monday 15 October. Well done to all our students who worked at improving performance at every repetition. All the hard work is paying off! Many thanks to Mel Lindenthal for her creative training exercises that engage the whole mind… Read more →
Congratulations to all students who graded last week! 2017 has been a great year of training with a new cohort of students coming through. Everyone has made fantastic progress by simply turning up regularly and doing their best to make small improvements to their performance at every repetition. It’s been a lot of fun and that’s of course a really… Read more →
Congratulations to our Aiki Teens who graded at the end of last term. Certificates were presented on Monday. We’re stepping up training in Term 4, introducing bigger throws, more joint locks and other cool stuff. Really looking forward to working with you all again this term. Welcome also to our new starters. Read more →
We get a lot of enquiries at the dojo for kids classes and for increasingly younger students. It seems parents are looking for classes for kids to help fulfil a need or aspiration. Benefits for kids The study of traditional martial arts has a lot to offer kids. At a physical level there is the development of strength, coordination and… Read more →
Young people get bullied at school and online. Those most vulnerable are children with disabilities. Today, 2 December, is the International Day of People with Disability. To acknowledge the day and recognise the diverse needs of people with disability, we are honoured to host a blog from Alex Diaz-Granados of cerebralpalsyguidance.com highlighting the challenges of bullying faced by children with a disability such as cerebral… Read more →
I started teaching martial arts for kids in 2005. But I never wanted to be a kids instructor at all – I had been actively avoiding teaching kids aikido for years! A couple of things changed my mind. Firstly, my own son had been bullied in primary school a few years earlier. A boy in his class, let’s call him Joey, was struggling with a messy parental break-up.… Read more →
Last night we held the first ever gradings in our Aiki Teens class. Congratulations, Niamh and Thomas, on a fantastic job – you’ve made phenomenal progress this term! Read more →