Children and the Martial Arts: An Aikido Point of View

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for parents -- and more
Review: I actually read this book before one of Homma Sensei's others (Aikido for Life), but I felt it was helpful to me as an adult student of aikido as well as a parent of a [maybe-] future-aikido child.

In the first half of the book Homma Sensei gives a very detailed and convincing account of how he came to the martial arts (and aikido in particular), and how this has shaped his practice as a teacher. He gives many easily-recognizable examples of conversations he's had with parents who want to enroll their kids in his classes. These would be comical if not true, but they serve to illustrate many of the wrong reasons parents want kids to participate in martial arts.

In the second half, he gives examples of many of the exercises children in his aikido classes perform, accompanied by black-and-white line drawings. These would be very helpful for parents with a child in aikido (as a way to understand what the children are doing, and to help them practice at home), but certainly can *not* substitute for the expert guidance of a certified instructor.

Interestingly, even though I bought this book [ostensibly] for the day my son might show an interest in coming to the dojo with me, it was very useful for my own aikido training. Homma Sensei stresses personal responsibility, as well as the "right" reasons for studying aikido, and I found this refreshing as a beginner myself. [It was also useful, in reading another of his books (Aikido for Life), as he gives a rather detailed account of his own study of aikido in this one -- which helps one understand why he feels the way he does about certain aspects of training.]

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent resource for parents -- and more
Review: I actually read this book before one of Homma Sensei's others (Aikido for Life), but I felt it was helpful to me as an adult student of aikido as well as a parent of a [maybe-] future-aikido child.

In the first half of the book Homma Sensei gives a very detailed and convincing account of how he came to the martial arts (and aikido in particular), and how this has shaped his practice as a teacher. He gives many easily-recognizable examples of conversations he's had with parents who want to enroll their kids in his classes. These would be comical if not true, but they serve to illustrate many of the wrong reasons parents want kids to participate in martial arts.

In the second half, he gives examples of many of the exercises children in his aikido classes perform, accompanied by black-and-white line drawings. These would be very helpful for parents with a child in aikido (as a way to understand what the children are doing, and to help them practice at home), but certainly can *not* substitute for the expert guidance of a certified instructor.

Interestingly, even though I bought this book [ostensibly] for the day my son might show an interest in coming to the dojo with me, it was very useful for my own aikido training. Homma Sensei stresses personal responsibility, as well as the "right" reasons for studying aikido, and I found this refreshing as a beginner myself. [It was also useful, in reading another of his books (Aikido for Life), as he gives a rather detailed account of his own study of aikido in this one -- which helps one understand why he feels the way he does about certain aspects of training.]

Highly recommended.