Aikido is training for the mind and body. Aikido is training for life. Aikido teaches kids a lighter approach to life. A plodding serious approach to life doesn't feel good. And it usually doesn't yield the best possible results. Aikido works best when you relax and feel light. By learning this in practice, our children can't help but apply this to their lives.

Aikido gives kids a positive worldview. It teaches that in order to create something worthwhile, you must work in harmony with your environment and others. If your mind is correct, calm, and positive, you can make something good out of whatever the universe hands you.

A dojo, or training hall, is neither a sports venue (having no spectators)
nor a school. It is a unique environment where Calm and Focused Awareness are developed through training in martial technique. It is a refuge from the outside world, that should be mentally 'left behind' as you enter.

Training requires both calm and focus, and a quiet, focused environment is the desired ambience of the dojo. As Aikido has neither competition nor aggression an Aikido dojo is more peaceful than most.

Although initially some rules need to be learnt, dojo culture does not come from a set of rules but rather from the understanding of, and respect for, the goal of Aikido and the dedication of its practitioners.

Students must arrive early, allowing the class to start on time.
Children must wear shoes to the dojo door.
No lollies or sugary drinks should be consumed before class by those children who have a tendency to become sugar-hyperactive.
Children's sores should be covered with an effective bandage or plaster.

Aikikids - training uniform

• The Aikikids badge should be sewn on the left chest of the gi.
• Grading Stripes should be sown on to the belt-tip (either end) soon
  after a grading.
• Your child's first name may be written or embroidered in black one-centimetre lettering onto a white sew-on patch, and sewn-on high up on the left sleeve of the gi. Make sure it's colour-fast!!
• Tying the gi belt should be practised at home as homework until successfully acquired.

• Please remove your shoes before entering the dojo, and place neatly outside.
• No hats are to be worn inside the dojo.
• Parents and guests (including children) cannot interact with the child during training. In some dojos parents are forbidden to attend...
  ...but not here.
• If you choose to stay and watch, please be quiet.
• Ensure your mobile phones are switched off in the dojo.
• No eating or drinking is permitted in the dojo.

This is part of your training

• Always arrive with plenty of time to change into your gi and sign in.
• Wear your shoes from the carpark to the dojo.
• Take off your shoes at the dojo door and leave neatly outside.
• Bow towards kamiza when you enter through the dojo door.
• Go to the changeroom and change quickly.
• Go to the desk and check in.
• Bow towards kamiza before stepping onto the mat.
• Sit quietly and wait for class to start.

• If you are late :
  Wait off the mat for a sensei to signal that you may join the class.
  Then bow and step onto the mat.
  

• Your gi should be clean.
• Boys cannot wear T shirts under gis. Girls can wear a white t-shirt or
  singlet under their gi.
• No rings, watches or jewellery can be worn on the mat in training.
• Your body,especially your feet, must be clean before stepping onto the mat.
• Your fingers and toenails must be trimmed to avoid scratching your partners.
• If you have a sore, make sure it is covered with a bandage or plaster.

• Always bow towards kamiza when you enter and leave the dojo.
• Always bow towards kamiza before you step on and off the mat.
• Always bow towards kamiza when you take a weapon on and off the mat.
• Always bow to a training partner when you start and finish practising a technique with them.
• Always bow to a sensei to thank him or her for giving you personal
  instruction.

SEIZA ( kneeling position )

• Always sit in seiza and wait calmly if you are not doing techniques.
• Kneel down...on left knee first.
• Stand up...with right leg first.

• Do not run in the dojo, either on or off the mat.
• During class always ask a sensei if you want to leave the mat.
• All instructors are called sensei during class.
• Treat all senseis with respect at all times.
• Do not be lazy in training. Be calm and focused.
• Learn by focusing your attention and by practising intelligently. Never interrupt the class by calling out. If you have to ask a question, wait until the senseiÕs attention is available.
• No eating or drinking is allowed in the dojo. Drinking is allowed only in
  the changeroom.
• Always keep the dojo clean. Pick up any rubbish. There are rubbish bins in the change-rooms.

The dojo is a special place. It isn't like school, or home, or a playground or a sports field. It is a place to practice and enjoy CALM IN ACTION, which is Aikido. This requires Focused Awareness which is difficult to learn if its too noisy. Keeping quiet doesn't mean tiptoeing around like a mouse. It means respecting the calm feeling in the dojo, and playing your part in keeping that feeling of calm. Relax and enjoy it !

The class should never be disturbed by arguing, gossiping, asking unnecessary questions or pushing and shoving.

Uke is the one who falls, and Nage is the one who throws. We all take turns as uke and nage. When it is our turn to be uke we must try to flow wherever nage is leading us. This is very important, because it helps nage to learn the feeling of correct technique. Ukes must flow with the techniques, get up quickly, and turn to face nage, fully alert, and ready to attack again.

Aiki Discipline is NOT punishment. It is not meant to hurt you, embarass you, insult or reject you in any way. It is done with love and kindness, to help you learn how to calm and focus yourself, so that you can grow into a Warrior of Peace. It is part of your training.

Anytime that a sensei feels your calm or focus has been lost, then he or she will simply send you to a Quiet Corner. They won't give you a warning.
It's then up to you to calm and focus yourself. It is not a sensei's job to be a schoolteacher or a parent. Your behaviour is not their 'problem'...it's yours!!
Remember the dojo is not like school or home.

In the Quiet Corner you will sit quietly in seiza, facing away from the class, and focus on what the sensei has given you to do. After about five minutes, if you are ready, you will turn around and face the class again sending ki towards the sensei who sent you to the Quiet Corner.

You are young and you have great potential to do and be whatever you want.
So...be good and do good.

Even though there seem to be many rules when you first start, and even though learning the techniques may sometimes seem way too easy, and sometimes way too hard...don't worry. Enjoy the calm of the dojo. Enjoy learning Aikido. Remember...

Every drop of Kindness added to the world
by you...
is part of the Upliftment of all living things.
So be happy to train and grow into a warrior...

...of Peace.

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The Seven Mysteries

The Seven Mysteries are some of the inner workings of Aikido. They have their origins in Nature and seem to be limitless in their depth. The more you train in them, the more there is to learn. They are endless mysteries.
They can be seen in the animal world. When you watch a nature program on TV, or your own pets, look carefully and you will see some of these mysteries in action.

CALM IN ACTION

Inside any powerful movement, like a cyclone, there is a calm centre.
In Aikido, to move powerfully you must remain calm and be totally relaxed.
Even when there is no movement at all, your calm awareness should be fully active.
Try this:
In a noisy classroom, or when tempers are fraying at home or in the playground,
be calm and extend your calm to fill the whole space. See what happens.

KI

The energy that moves the Universe is known in Japan as Ki. It is known in other countries by other names - in India it is prana, in China it is chi, in the Pacific Islands it is mana, to the Australian aborigines it is djang or wunggud.
Ki is inside the forces that hold atoms together and spin them around.
So small, it is infinitely softer than air and infinitely more flowing than water,
but it is the power that moves the whole universe.
Ki is very magical because it responds to your intention, your 'ki-extension',
so you must always be 100% positive in your techniques and your life. Your
'ki-extension' is used in Aikido techniques, when you extend your ki-awareness and become sensitive to uke's movements. Ki-extension has also been used by healers for centuries to give healing touch. Sleep rebuilds your Ki. So sleep well!

CENTRE

Your Centre is situated a few centimetres below your belly button, inside your body. It is the place where you mentally focus your Ki, and when you want to
move powerfully you move from this Centre.
When your movement spins (tenkan), it should spin from Centre like a cyclone
or a spinning top. When your movement enters (irimi), you should move from
your Centre like a powerful avalanche or tsunami - straight through.

BLENDING

Like a flock of birds or a school of fish that turn at the same moment, Blending means you are so sensitive to uke's ki that you can move at the same moment. When you become aware of your own Ki, you will also be able to sense uke's Ki.
Then your techniques will become softer and more powerful at the same time.
Like the water in a creek that flows calmly, smoothly over everything in its path - rocks, sand or even a waterfall. Water and air are so soft that they blend with everything in their paths, but they can also become tsunamis and cyclones.

MA'AI

Ma'ai is the body language that you must learn to read so that you can stay at a
safe distance from an attacker or any danger. A small danger needs only short ma'ai. A great danger needs a long ma'ai. When you can sense uke's Ki you will be able to 'keep ma'ai' naturally. Keeping ma'ai is not running away. It is staying in control. Can you catch a butterfly easily? A butterfly is so small and has no weapons at all, but it doesn't run away. It is in control of the situation. It is so calm. It is so Blended. It is a Master of Ma'ai.

KI'AI

Ki'ai is a natural ki-filled warning shout, like a dog's bark. It can be a call for help
or the roar of a lion, but anyone who hears it can feel the power (the ki) in it. It is not empty. It is filled with Ki. Listen to how a dog barks.

UKEMI

Ukemi is the art of safe falling. Aikido rolls are not the same as somersaults that you might learn in gym or at circus training. They are a special roll to protect your
head and body from injury at high speeds. We fall many times in our lives - off bikes and horses, out of trees etc. Ukemi has already saved many people from serious injuries and death. It is a lifeskill. It is also part of Aikido technique, and
is much more than just falling. Uke (the one who rolls) must learn to get straight back up onto their feet in a flowing way. The Founder of Aikido always encouraged his students to take ukemi 'like a cat', and to return to their feet lightly and ready for anything. Watch how a cat falls.