Aikido Day Camps: Blending Play and Purpose
Children’s Aikido Camps: Where Self-Discovery and Teamwork Meet Fun and Growth
"Come on, stretch out, give me your hand, I'll help you." – the kids have the task of getting from one side of the dojo to the other, overcoming certain obstacles along the way. These are the moments I love most at the Aikido day camp – we, the teachers and assistants, sit on the sidelines, not interfering, just watching the enthusiasm, creativity, and playfulness with which the children immerse themselves in the game.
One of the positive aspects of lockdowns in 2020/21 was that we had time to prepare new projects for our Aikido club. Aikido day camps for children were one of them. The whole concept proved to be valuable and enriching in summer 2021 and therefore we turned it into a regular event - at the beginning of each summer, we organize two sessions of Aikido day camps for children aged 6 to 12; last summer it was the fourth year of this event.
You might be wondering, what is the difference between a regular children's Aikido training and a day camp?
The group of children is more diverse, ranging from 6 to 12 years old. This gives children the opportunity to learn from the older ones and, in turn, take care of the younger ones.
The camp is 5 days long, each day children come around 8:30 am and leave at 4:30 pm.
We have two separate training sessions each day - warrior training and Aikido training. In the Aikido part, children learn how to fall, move with a partner, and practice Aikido techniques. In the warrior part of the training, on the other hand, we focus on general movement skills: standing firmly, working with our own strength and balance, developing reflexes and agility...
Every day, we go outdoors – we practice and play movement games in parks, visit a rope course, and have time for free play.
During the day, we sit in a circle several times and talk about our experiences, as well as the virtues and qualities of good people and warriors.
Calmer activities, such as eating with chopsticks, drawing, folding origami, making our own sushi, and decorating camp T-shirts, are also an integral part of our day. They are good for developing fine motor skills and they also link the camp to Japanese culture.
Since we spend the whole day together, we also have time for mutual massage. Children gradually learn to perceive and touch their partner through gentle massage techniques.
The whole camp is usually run by two teachers and an assistant. One teacher is present the whole week but there are different teachers and assistants taking turns during the week. It´s a wonderful opportunity for various teachers and assistants to spend more time together, gain a lot of experience working with children, and experiment with different ideas which can be useful for our regular kids classes.
The teenagers from our youth classes are helping us as assistants which means they get more responsibility and also learn how to work with children.
At the end of each camp, kids prepare a short performance for their parents, where they have the chance to show what new things they have learned.
So that’s a little summary of our camps. However, these are just words. The structure is similar each year, but each camp is unique and different, filled with everything the children, teenagers and adults bring into it. Take a look at the pictures, maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of the energy and enthusiasm we experience each year.
And if you have any questions, leave us a comment below.
