What we Teach at North Lawrence Ki Aikido

What happens on the mat must carry out of the Dojo and into the world .

I wish to teach my students how to

Conceive, plan, gather support for, and execute projects, small and/or large, where they took the things we practiced on the mat (respect, courage, tenacity, etc.) and put them to work in the community to the benefit of other people and/or things (that matter). When a student graduated from one of my intermediate or advanced training programs, they would have a portfolio of projects reflecting values and mentoring far and above what I knew how to execute then.

Understand and use the tools of anger management, so that anger (towards self and/or others) played as little a (destructive) role as possible in their lives. As now I understand what anger really is, most of the time: Fear and of a destructive and unhealthy point of view.

Recognize the power of diet and food consciousness / awareness in their lives. In that food or things that pass as food might be the most important self-defense and health issue in their lives, I would have spent no small amount of energy helping them learn about food and the factor it plays not only in the individual, but in how the production of it, how it's produced, plays a role in the health of a community --and beyond.

Journal, in writing, photography, and/or video, as an exercise, a practice, in looking deeply at the what, why, how, and who of their lives. Had I known how fleeting the time was, how many people they liked and loved that would go away, and how difficult it can be to put the training and learning into a useful perspective, I would have made journaling as important as anything else I taught.

How to recognize and understand the manipulation of the popular media with regards to self-worth, body image, and values. I would have helped my students defend themselves from the unhealthy depiction of "what is beauty," and "what is it to be a real man," and "what cultivates happiness," and any number of subjects that reflect unrealistic ideals meant to sell products and/or enforce unhealthy stereotypes.

Non-violent conflict resolution; yes, I would have guided them to become as proficient at the skills of negotiation and conflict resolution, without resorting to any sort of verbal, emotional, or physical violence, as I was capable.

It's a longer list than this --but the point is, of course, today I could teach a far, far better form of martial arts --that not only developed world class athletes and practitioners, but that also prepared these kids, if at all possible, for a kind of thinking and social participation that would reap as many (or more) rewards than the joy of being highly skilled technicians of the martial arts.

There was a time when I thought that teaching all the physical skills of the martial arts was, you know, "the way." That was not an accurate understanding of the potential of the role of the martial arts citizen-teacher.