Aikido for Kids

As an Aikido teacher, I think this book is especially helpful for children and parents considering whether Aikido is right for them. Rather than being a book for Aikido teachers, "Aikido for Kids" is an excellent resource for children and parents interested in Aikido. My favorite aspects of the book are the diversity of the children models (age, rank, ethnicity, ability and gender with students training with people different from themselves) and the emphasis on how Aikido is useful in daily life (making friends and respecting parents is described as Aikido). The physical aspects of Aikido are presented in a clear and inviting way and includes everything that is part of a typical Aikido class from warm-ups to testing (I particularly like the segment on rolling). The section for parents on finding an Aikido class for their child contains wise and practical advice. I can think of no better resource for children and parents seeking an introdution to Aikido.

I found this book to be an excellent resource. I teach aikido to kids and bought a copy to circulate among my students. It introduces the basic aikido concepts, but does not get bogged down with a lot of Japanese terminology, which tends to differ from dojo to dojo and would not be helpful. This book will give students confidence and makes aikido practice seem approachable. The section on testing was very helpful.

This book covers the things that a younger child wants to know who is getting interested in Aikido and martial arts. The plentiful pictures both show the various stances and are motivating to the child who may think that he'll never be able to "get it." It is an excellent introductory book to the subject of "Aikido for kids."