I have recently invited my ten student teachers to observe an Aikido class at the Aikido School of Queens, which is located in Little Neck, New York. Our objective was to look into the Aikido philosophy of education for Early Childhood. I was fascinated to learn of the many positive responses that my students have expressed as part of their assignment.

While Aikido is a form of Japanese Martial Arts, it allows for the child to express their spirituality without being violent. It protects the child from any outsider with self-defense, yet doesn’t encourage violence. Aikido has been an asset in continuing to foster the child’s self esteem and teamwork. The process of Aikido not only focuses on the development of the above areas, but enhances children in the areas of focus, memory balance and coordination.

As a Professor at Long Island University in the department of Curriculum and Instruction, soon to be a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education, with a specialization in Special Education, I have introduced the Aikido method in addition to one of my graduate classes at the University and they have found this to be a technique which helps to enable the child to relax in an academically pressured society which we are forced to live in.

While children don’t have the ability to be children any longer, where imagination is pulled away by “Your child cannot read by the age of two,” Aikido is another form of education which allows for the child to receive a wonderful gift of feeling free from pressure while expanding their development of self confidence. While Aikido is indeed a Martial Art, it is a program for learning Life Skills, which is taught in an enriching manner. It is a program that keeps your child physically fit and helps them to recognize the value of teamwork.

The areas, which my students from the University were impressed with, were; focusing, self control, memory, fitness, teamwork, balance, discipline and coordination.

While the control of test taking, such as the pressure of the ELA’s, which now begins in the earlier primary grades has damaged the importance of self-esteem, which is proven to be diminishing within the children of today. Statistics has shown that children need to play to enhance their vocabulary and their imagination and nevertheless needless stress is being introduced to youngsters too early.

The Aikido program enhances the need to teach children to deal with conflict resolution without violence, while using the ability for fine self defense techniques. These skills will be an asset in potential difficult times.

What my students at the University seem to feel positive about was that the practice of Aikido combines the training of the mind, body and spirit in a single unified discipline and that the child is exposed to growing with a positive self image and with compassionate leadership skills.

While being a professor at CW Post, LI University, and having my own business entitled, Clevertutor, both Robert E. Waltzer Sensei and Melisa Desperak Sensei have spent time collaborating our ideas and philosophies to our educational training and to better enhance the learning skills that are needed in our schools today.

I have introduced the Emilia Reggio, Summerhill and Indigo Child Development skills and have done extensive research at the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach. There is so much more to be learned as educators, parents and administrators. For a start, not all children learn in the same way that they are expected to learn. The second step is that it is necessary to accept other methods of learning and ways of working with children.
 

Visit the Aikido of Queens website