Hello, Need help on Navajo Rez. teaching children

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[IDKY]

Hello all,

Just found the site while searching for info on aikido. My wife and I live on a ranch here in NM. We have 2 small children ages 7 and 11. we would like to get them invovled in some type of martial arts, but haven't a clue on how to go about it. While at a law enforcement accadamy during my National Park Service days I was introduced to a little bit of Aikido. I loved it, but being a ranger I was always way out in the sticks and never could get invovlved with a dojo. I am now concerned for my children as the rez has started to see more and more gang activity and of course drugs and alcohol is a problem also. My question is how do I start teaching my children the art of aikido way out here iin the middle of nowhere? Can it be done through DVDs? Are there any DVDs that will help us teach? If we can find DVDs that we can use to teach with, there are other children out here that I know could benifit from aikido. am I asking for too much?
thanks, Mark

[Joseph Madden]

You can't really learn to teach other people aikido from DVDs. Most DVDs are used by practitioners of martial arts as a stepping stone at best for what they are already learning in the dojo. But that being said, living on the rez, it must be extremely difficult to try to get the kids involved in something to keep them safe from temptations. There are many "instructional" DVDs available online, for various martial arts. My only request is that you learn as much from the DVDs as you can before you start teaching the kids. Or if you have a year to take off, the hombu dojo in Tokyo Japan of the Yoshinkai school of aikido offers the senshusei course, which will take you from beginner to instructor level in about one year(you will live, breath and sleep aikido for 6 days a week, up to 10 hours a day).

[aikidoc]

Where are you located in NM? There are several dojos in NM and some in West Texas. We are not too far from Hobbs and I believe there used to be a dojo there.

[Janet Rosen]

Hello and welcome.
I think your idea/motivation is wonderful! But agree w/ those who have said it cannot be learned, as a beginner, from a tape or book or video: it needs to be FELT. Many things look alike to a viewer but only 1 is correct. What I mean is....once can say reach your arm out or stand up: one "simply does it" but in fact there are many different muscles and postures and energy uses that can go into "just reaching out" or standing up, but the untrained eye cannot tell the difference among them by watching.