Back to School Means Activities for Youths at the Abiding Spirit Center

The Abiding Spirit Center offers a fun and dynamic training program for young people.

Our black belt teaching staff is passionate about working with our students. We offer children and teens a safe and inspiring learning environment to develop calm minds, alert bodies and enlivened spirits. We emphasize learning how to get along. Aikido practice combines a dynamic physical practice and techniques of self-defense with the inner practice of centering and focusing one’s attention.

Young people find that Aikido training helps them resolve conflict nonviolently, improve physical coordination and develop a positive approach to life’s challenges, while having fun.

The social benefits are numerous. Parents appreciate the emphasis on safety, good manners, focus and kindness. The skills that youths learn in Aikido practice assist them in dealing effectively with the joys and challenges of daily life. Parents are delighted to see their children listen attentively and display good posture.

Aikido helps young people at home and at school. Aikido training lets youths practice movements that invite them to blend with their world in a positive manner. The rolling drills, self-defense techniques and imaginative games assist them in absorbing body and mind knowledge with more ease. They learn to rely on their abilities to assert themselves. Self-confidence and self-discipline grow with their commitment to practice.

Athletic benefits. Training increases coordination, flexibility and balance. Aikido invites young people to run, roll, jump and fall. It enhances their physical resiliency and complements other sports activities.

Children need not be athletic to begin practice. Often the techniques of Aikido help us find comfortable ways to be in our bodies and to move naturally. Aikido works for big and little people alike. Because it doesn’t rely solely on strength to be effective, people of all sizes and shapes can find success in their training.

Studying new ideas, making friends and using one’s imagination are part of growing up. As a young person’s physical and intuitive skills deepen, they begin studying the more serious side of martial arts.

Self-defense is the art of sensing the state of things energetically before they materialize. Kids do this naturally. We invite them to notice their excitement, their intuitive hunches and discomfort, and to mark these sensations as signs that certain actions are required to create safety.

The self-defense emphasis they learn helps them diffuse aggression and conflict not just physically, but verbally and emotionally as well. They have opportunities to challenge themselves in unexpected ways, like asserting themselves in ways they previously thought impossible or handling a bully in a calm and confident manner without anger or force. They become advocates for peace on the mat and in their daily lives. They learn about being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing, even without reward. They build respect and compassion for themselves and their partners.

Here are some benefits Aikido offers:

· How to live in our bodies- young people learn to identify their feelings by paying attention to their emotional and intuitive world

· The art of cooperation and good manners

· The value of play

· The power of daily practice- young people learn how to persevere when things become difficult, and find the strength that comes from that

· How to work with anxiety and aggression in self and others

Classes for Youths will meet on Monday and Thursdays from 6:30- 7:30 pm, and are for ages 8-12 (ages 8-10 require an adult to be present during classes). Classes for teens and adults meet Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 6:30-7:30 pm and Sundays from 10:00-11:00 am.

Currently, the Abiding Spirit Center is offering a FREE TRIAL to anyone who wants to find out what Aikido is about. There are NO contracts, and family discounts are available. See www.AbidingSpiritCenter.org for further information and to register.