St. Louis Employs Martial Art of Aikido to Redirect Misguided Teens

Students entering the program have already shown, in their first week, growth outside of class in the frequency of their bullying and physical retribution. They think more frequently of aikido and less frequently of responding to violence with violence.

Yet another city is now employing the martial art of aikido as a vehicle for safely channeling the aggressive behavior of teens in a positive and productive direction. The St. Louis American reported on an initiative designed to bring non-violence education to St. Louis students through the martial art aikido called “Inner City, Inner Peace.” The initiative just kicked off its inaugural six-week program.

The article includes a brief, but helpful explanation of aikido for the uninitiated:

The martial art aikido, unique among martial arts, operates with a philosophy of peaceful resistance. Students expecting to learn karate or kung-fu are often surprised by the lack of punches and kicks in aikido. The program focuses on the difference between fighting back, weakly falling, and standing peaceful yet strong in the face of danger.

The author also notes that another component of the program is a discussion session, where the physical aspects of the training are reinforced. These sessions are led by a team of discussion leaders and social workers.

The results…? Having only begun last sprint, one might think that it’s too soon to see any solid, documented results in the form of changing patterns for dealing with violence. On the contrary, we’re informed by the article that as early as the first week, the value of the program was evident:

Students entering the program have already shown, in their first week, growth outside of class in the frequency of their bullying and physical retribution. They think more frequently of aikido and less frequently of responding to violence with violence.

Read the original article here.
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