Our plans to offer Aikido practices for youth (ages 12 - 16) are under development. Our goal is to make them fun, challenging and widely accessible. Most likely we'll begin offering these practices early in 2026, with more detailed information about them becoming available in December, 2025. If you'd like us to send you an update once we have the details put together, please email and let us know (SeattleKokikaiAikido@gmail.com). In the meantime, youth are invited to join our regular, adult practices as well.
Info For Parents / Care Givers
Teens practice Aikido because it's fun and satisfying and generally not because of any perceived personal growth or development they're hoping to attain through training. For adults who are participating in raising a teen though, it can be worthwhile having some insights about how training might benefit them, even beyond their enjoyment. Everyone gets something different from Aikido training, but below are some possibilities we would expect to be present:
Exercise - The physical and mental health benefits of exercise are so vast and already so well documented, there's no need to elaborate on them here. In Aikido in particular, the exercise is coupled with an emphasis on body awareness which can support improved physical function and emotional regulation. Additionally, as youth learn to feel more physically capable, there's an opportunity to develop a more positive relationship with their bodies.
Presence and Clarity of Mind - Our training inspires engagement with full attention, which can give youth an enjoyable opportunity to practice focus. Additionally, Aikido is built around a set of principles and tools for maintaining a calm and clear mind, even when facing challenging situations.
Social Development - Through Aikido training youth will have positive interactions with people who are outside their circle of friends. These interactions are not focused on small talk, or fashion, or anything else that might lead to feelings of judging or being judged. Instead they're focused on a common objective, learning through training. One important component of these interactions is positive physical contact. Both initiating and receiving positive physical contact are skills that can be cultivated through practice. Additionally, Aikido training employs elements of etiquette rooted in its Japanese origin. Through this experience youth can become more aware that different contexts have different standards of etiquette, and that awareness can help them be adaptive to the norms of different environments.
Collaboration Skills - Our training is completely collaborative among participants, which allows for positive and engaging experiences working together. In competitive practices, people become motivated by wanting to be better than other competitors. In collaborative training, people learn to be motivated by helping themselves and their partners get better together. While both have value, opportunities for the latter tend to be more rare.