Stop the Bully Using Aikido
Aikido Kids of Gainesville
4424 SW 35th Terr, Gainesville, FL. 32608 | 352-494-7816
Aikido Kids is about teaching kids and teens 6-16 non-aggresive self defense
If your child
is being bullied, please let me
know. I will ask the student how the
attacks are happening and we will show and
practice specific response techniques
until the child can do this as if it is
simple. The first responses taught
are simple and effective. The
students who have come in the past have
consistently reported that the bullying
stopped within a month or two, often
sooner. With practice and
proficiency the student gains confidence
and the threat of humiliation for the
attacker becomes too much, so the
attackers choose different targets.
I use the word humiliation because the
attacker usually ends up on the ground not
really knowing what happened. It
will not look like a regular fight and
your child is trained to walk away or
leave the area so it is rare that anyone
gets in trouble.
Aikido Kids
is a part of Aikido
of Gainesville.
We are open 6
days a week for Kids and Teens classes.
Saturday
morning classes are free for Kids
9am-10:30am and Teens from 10:30am-Noon.
It is OK to stay all morning
if there is a desire.
Address:
4424 SW 35th Terr Gainesville, FL. 32608
Phone: 352-494-7816
Email: sensei@aikidoofgainesville.com
or tangoch30@hotmail.com
Business
Hours: 2:30pm-5:30pm while schools are
open during the year.
Hours change to mornings when schools
close for summer.
Holiday Season
discounts will be in
effect until January 2nd,
2017.
20
Class Card for $160
a
60% discount or $240 off.
15 Class Card for $150
a 50% discount or $150
off.
10
Class Card for $140
a 30% discount or $60 off.
5
Class Card for $80
a
20% discount or $20 off.
+3 Class Bonus for each new relative or friend who buys classes. A $60 Value
MONTHLY RATES
Monday through Friday Kids @ 2:30pm - 4pm or Teens @ 4pm – 5:30pm
4
Classes / month = 1/wk
$ 70 / month = 12%
Discount
8 Classes / month =
2/wk $100 /
month = 37% Discount
12 Classes / month = 3/wk
$135 / month = 44%
Discount
20 Classes / month =
5/wk
$200 / month = 50% Discount
FREE Saturday mornings practices are FREE
Kids 9:00 am - 10:30 am Teens 10:30 am – Noon
Other Family Arrangements may be Negotiated
+3 class bonus per Family member or friend
Transportation options are available
For
Transportation issues one option is to
contact Kids On Wheels 352-665-2115
Uniforms
are not required. My philosophy
is that what is on the body is not as
important as the knowledge in the
head. If you desire a uniform
wonderful! It looks great!
Still, what is in the head is most
important. Kids grow so fast
that parents are constantly buying
more clothes. The dojo's
that require uniforms charge you for
uniforms, belts, tests, certificates,
etc. I charge you
for the knowledge I teach.
I call the other places "take your
dough jo's". If you have the
money and want to spend it there,
wonderful. Perhaps I'm a
terrible business man. I
prefer to consider I'm staying true to
the "way". I would rather
teach more students how to defend
themselves and accept more donations
because you are happy with what I
teach.
What Does the Dojo Look Like?
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A Description of How Classes Are Run
Classes may start with a game for the first 15 minutes depending on the end of the previous class. This allows any late arrivals without missing the main part of the class. Bow in may be with the bow out of the previous class. We do about a 10 minute warmup of stretches and wrist warmups most of the time. The amount of time depends on the memory and attention of the students and if they are already warmed up or not. After the warmups we cover the two main principles of Aikido; "Get-out-of-the-way-of-the-attack and learn to coordinate your whole body with your power zone to execute techniques."
After these daily basics, students
learn anti-bully techniques and how to
roll so the students can fall without
getting hurt. The students receive
a belt and stripes of colored tape are
added as they learn various techniques
that correspond to what is required to
pass the test for the next rank.
When the student can adequately remember
and execute the various techniques we
arrange a skill test to show what they
know. Upon successful pass of the
test the belt is traded for the next
belt. This requires the student to
use their mind and remember what has
been taught. Advancement is not
automatic.
We will take water breaks generally
around the half hours, about 30
minutes. There may be extra
games depending on the general level of
the students
attending. Beginners
get more skill developing games
with an emphasis on rolling.
There may be Japanese history and culture (including looking at the map), language, simple science, psychology, math, geometry, anatomy, the universe, or simple physics taught at various times to help the students develop more depth of understanding. Therefore the class may sometimes seem like it doesn't have anything to do with a martial art. Often, when students are hot and sweaty I will read the historical fiction story of Musashi, a famous swordsman of the early 17th century (the characters were real, many of the main events happened, but actual interactions are guessed). This story incorporates the historical characteristics of the ancient Samurai culture which still influences Japan to these modern times. Musashi wrote a famous book of fighting strategy titled, "The Five Rings", which is still studied and used today. I have a business book entitled "The Five Rings used in Japanese Business".
It may also appear that we
play a lot. The Japanese
will ask, "How long have you played
Aikido?" The Americans ask, "How
long have you practiced Aikido?" I
prefer the former. So we strive to
"Play Aikido". That does not
mean it is not serious. It
is. Especially in the Adult
classes. We have fun, but it
is still as serious as a heart
attack.
One of the primary differences of Aikido classes are the sounds. Karate, Tai Kwon Do, Judo and some other martial arts have loud Kiai's (shouts) etc. Good, fun Aikido classes are filled with laughter.
I am not a strict disciplinarian. The stress in these classes is for self control. If it is not immediately forthcoming, I usually don't worry too much about it. Soon the student will recognize there are small recognitions of accomplishment which lead to advancement (colored tape stripes on the belt). If the student cannot control him or herself enough then these stripes will not be put on. Almost all of the students clearly desire this recognition. It's something to show Mom and Dad. "Look what I got!" I will let the student who is not behaving know this is exactly why he or she did not get the stripe. I also expect that the parent will tell the student what is and isn't acceptable. When the student figures it out that paying attention and doing what is asked and being able to show the knowledge, the stripes as rewards show up.
As students advance the
techniques become more traditional
Aikido techniques which increase in
complexity with each test. Senior
students are expected to help junior
students learn and advance. These
older students may advance faster than
the young students because of maturity,
attention focus, higher comprehension
and the abilities of the advanced
students to help the junior
students. Each student can
advance at their rates of
comprehension. Some are faster,
others are slower.
Starting with the sixth test, students
learn Aiki Weapons handling
skills. This develops deeper
understanding of the empty hand skills
and students learn to understand how the
techniques developed through history of
Japan. By this time the students
should understand that techniques can be
dangerous and they must be careful not
to hurt others.
Class may end with another game or just a bow out depending on time constraints and the general proficiency level of the class. The higher the rank, the more techniques known, the more the practice begins to feel like play. The bows and claps at the beginning and end are to call the spirits of the old past "Masters" to come watch over our practice and to release their spirits back to the universe once class is over.