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Observation
Aikido is taught, in large part, by an instructor demonstrating a technique several times from several directions, and then having students pair up as partners and practice the technique themselves. In the early days of Aikido, few words were spoken about the technique being demonstrated, and the key aspects of what made the technique work were not pointed out. These things were the responsibility of the student to pick up and discover for themselves. Students were supposed to "steal" the techniques from the instructor.

Our teaching approach in the children’s program is quite different from those early days, and we talk about and demonstrate what does and doesn’t work at some length. Still, in order to learn Aikido in our classes, students need to practice active observation. They need to focus their attention on the demonstration with the intent of learning all that can be learned from it. Students must watch not only the hand motions necessary for the technique, but also the foot positions. Ideally, they will also be aware of the hip motions of the instructor demonstrating the technique. Part of what you will learn in Aikido is how to see and observe, but nobody can do it for you. You need to be able to see and remember and reproduce what you have seen with your own body in order to move forward in the study of Aikido.
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