To enter the program of Children's Aikido at Methuen Aikido, the
following are required:
- The student must be at least 7 years old. Some 6 and 5 year
old children are able to participate in the program effectively,
but require an evaluation period. See the first bullet under Exception
Procedures, below, for details. We do not accept children under
5 years of age.
- A uniform, called a gi. There
are two styles of gi, the karate style and the judo style. Either
style will serve. The karate style is thinner and, thus, less
expensive. The judo style includes a heavier quilted jacket that
absorbs a bit more shock for advanced practice. We offer both
for sale at the dojo. Both styles shrink considerably over the
first few washings and dryings, and will usually lose 2-3 inches
in arm and leg length so allow for that when purchasing a gi.
If you have a white gi from another martial art, you can probably
use it for our program (check with an instructor).
- Registration materials must be complete. Both a registration
form and a liability release must be filled out.
- The first month's dues
must be paid.
Exception Procedures
To ensure that all students will have a chance to learn, we
have established a few simple procedures.
- Due to motor and cognitive development stages, any child under
seven (7) years of age will spend their first month in the dojo
under evaluation. We want to make sure the child has a sufficient
attention span and motor coordination to benefit from Aikido instruction,
rather then experiencing a frustrating dilemma. At the end of
the evaluation month the children's program teaching committee
will initiate a dialog with the child's parents and decide if
the child actually benefits from Aikido or if it would be in the
best interest of the child to mature a little further, cognitively
and/or physically, in order to enjoy Aikido.
- If at any point a behavior problem starts to occur, the children's
program teaching committee will approach the parent, detail the
behavioral problems, and put the student on a 2 week probation
period. The children's program instructors are volunteers from
all walks of life who love Aikido and who love teaching. They
are not behavioral therapists and cannot solve behavioral problems
or give professional advice. We ask parents to seek outside help
if feel their children would benefit from such attention. After
a probation period the student may either:
- be asked to leave the program indefinitely
- be asked to take a short leave of absence.
- simply return to their previous status.
In cases b) and c)
students are under a "3 strike" policy, should their problems
return. This is to say that if their behavior fails to meet the
minimum standards three times, they will be asked to leave the
program indefinitely.
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