KIDS AIKIDO

There are no winners or losers in aikido, which is pretty great, because winning and losing is not what life is about. Rather, when we practice this uniquely collaborative martial art, we are all learning to work through conflict. We push one another, to build strength, openness, coordination, compassion, and resilience

KIDS CLASSES

OUR NEW KIDS SCHEDULE STARTS SEPTEMBER 3rd!

Tuesdays 3:30--4:15 Martial Movement For Preschoolers

Wednesdays 4:00—5:00 PM Aikido Teens/Advanced Kids

Sundays 11:00—11:45 AM Kids Aikido

Each fun, lively class includes:

Physical conditioning
Paired practice
At least one game
Short open awareness meditation
Participation in the customs and etiquette of the dojo

Martial Movement is a kid-led exploration of aikido that includes free play and games, as well as a little directed learning

Kids who want the challenge of adult classes can take on a full membership, including weapons study, at the instructor’s discretion.

WHAT DO KIDS SAY ABOUT ITHACA AIKIKAI?

Ximena, age 9

I like Aikido a lot because it is very fun! There are a lot of cool and fun things you do there like belt wrestling, learning to do stuff with your bokken, the techniques and a LOT more! I also like it because there are so many nice people there! And some of the things are hard or EXHAUSTING but there’s always someone there to help! Some things look very hard, but turn out to be easy. At first I was very scared, and then I realized that it is very fun. I hope to keep doing Aikido.

Winston, age 10

I'm a 5th grader. I have done martial arts before, but Aikido is different from other martial arts because in Aikido your goal is to work together in the spirit of cooperation instead of violence. Deborah is an amazing teacher who represents Aikido extremely well.

COSTS

Kids memberships are $50 a month

All kids must purchase a gi, or training uniform, for $30

All kids will be working through a colored belt ranking system, which requires an annual registration fee of about $60