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Old 07-11-2006, 06:10 PM   #11
aikigirl10
Dojo: Aikido of Ashland
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 395
United_States
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Re: Children and adults together

Quote:
Recently 2 children aged 5 and 7 have started training with our evening aikido class.

I find it very difficult to train with them, they are less than a third of my size. my frustration lies on 3 levels:

- They are too small to offer any attack above waist height
- They sometimes lack the attention span to focus on the mat for the duration of the class
- Because of their size I do not feel comfortable throwing them or applying techniques to them.

I would really like some other perspectives on this, am I being selfish? Should I suck it up and train with whoever the Sensei allows onto the mat?

Is it reasonable to not want to practice with a five year old?

What should I do?
Would you feel the same way practicing with a dwarf? (minus the attention span thing) The point is... sometimes you have to adjust your way of training to suit the needs of others.. even if it means suiting the needs of children.

I started training when i was 8, and i'm sure the adults got tired of practicing with me, but they had to do it in order for *me* to learn, they need training partners just as much as you do. And not only this, but you can learn alot by helping *them* understand.

I've had experience both as the child, and as the one trying to cope with the child, and both can be frustrating. When i was young, it was definitely difficult for me to throw a grown man, no doubt, so don't you think they are feeling just as frustrated as you are? I can totally understand where your frustration is coming from, and i'm not saying u are being selfish, but you need to look at things from *all* points of view and not just your own.

*Paige*
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