— Last updated: Sunday, 27-Jan-2008 23:16:33 PST

Kids' classes are very successful at 276 Carlaw Avenue. This is thanks to a lot of work by many of the adult students and to the parents who have supported the classes. As well, we are grateful for the neighbourhood's enthusiastic reception.

We started out with a Saturday morning class. After six months at our new location the attendance increased to the bursting point where we had to add on another (evening) class to the schedule. And it hasn't taken long to get the enrollment up for the new Wednesday class, either...
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Anna, age (almost) 10
by Anna

I find aikido quite fun. I've only been going for a few weeks and I already love it!! I think it's great for young and young at heart or for anybody who likes fun, exercising, self defence, healthy activities. I was begging my mom for a long time to get me into something like this, when she told me about it I jumped at the chance, and when I started I was glad my mom got me into this...
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Aikido From A Youth's Point of View
by Timothy

When I was 8 years old, I started Judo classes and enjoyed it at the beginning. But as I advanced, Judo began to get more competitive and the dojo seemed to become less friendly and more tough. To move up in rank, I had to go to tournaments where I would face "opponents" almost three years older and more experienced than myself. I became tired of all the competition in judo and decided to move on.

My mother had spoken to her piano teacher, Jean Collins, whose husband, Bill, is a 5th dan in Aikido. He recommended Aikido Shugyo Dojo to my Mom because it had a children's class with great teachers...
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Patience, Bravery and Trust (Not to Mention a Sense of Humour!): A Brief History of the Kids' Classes
by Homayun Kordbacheh

A wise person once said, "patience is a virtue".

It was more than four years ago when we first started talking about running classes for kids at the Bloor Valley Club. Not many of us at Shugyo Dojo had any experience in dealing with children at the time, let alone with teaching them aikido. Three of us, John McNabb, Katrine Doig, and myself accepted the challenge. It was decided that we would run the kids' class in an eight-session format, familiarizing the students with the basic ideas behind the techniques and philosophy of aikido. That was wishful thinking...
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Children & Youth Classes Schedule:
Wednesday	6:15 pm -   7:15 pm	children & youth
Saturday	12 noon - 1:00 pm	children & youth
Fees:
Youth classes (ages 10 to 14):		$35 per month
Children’s classes (ages 6 to 9):		$30 per month $25 for sibling
Annual Membership Fee		$20 per year
Please Note: Fees are payable on the first of the month.

See also the complete dojo schedule.

Articles
· Aikido for Kids - by Fran Turner
· Anna, age (almost) 10 - by Anna
· Aikido From A Youth's Point of View - by Timothy
· A Brief History of the Kids' Classes - by Homayun Kordbacheh