Education is the building
block for the present as well as future generations. However, there
has been a proliferation of violence and conflict in today's schools. Many
educators have no idea how to stem this tide of violence. Violence
in adolescence is a complex social phenomenon that runs across all types
of environments, and it's not only indigenous to urban settings. The understanding
of conflict and how we deal with it, has a huge impact on if a situation
will escalate into violence.
Students are extremely motivated
and inspired by the martial arts. They see martial artists as powerful
people who can control external situations. Martial artists are powerful
people, but foremost the truly skilled martial artist knows how to control
internal situations. The philosophy of Aikido could easily be integrated
into school curriculums in Physical Education and or Health classes.
I am the Peer Mediation
Coordinator in my middle school and I have trained my student mediators
in some basic Aiki concepts. I have taught them the principles of
non-resistance, blending and harmonizing.
"I will never forget the first time Skip
presented to our Peer Advocate Group. He and his daughter Rebecca
demonstrated the concept of conflict resolution through the art of Aikido.
It was not only informative but useful and enlightening as well."
-Nick Faraco Guidance Counselor and Coordinator of the Peer Advocate Program Simsbury High School
The mind set of Aikido lends
itself to being assertive and not aggressive and or confrontational.
The basic tenet of Aikido speaks to resolving conflict by placing
yourself in the other person's position and blending, rather than confronting.
The psychological underpinnings of Aikido could easily be integrated into
schools to help empower students and resolve problems.
Aikido principles can teach
students healthier approaches to viewing conflict. Just because you
disagree with a person you can still honor them for whom they are. By respecting
them, the chances of conflict and violence starts to disappear. That is
the philosophy O-Sensei taught regarding Aikido as a martial art.
He preached the point of respecting your opponent, and not hurting them.
A base approach to the martial arts is to seriously injure your opponent.
The highest level of the martial art is to stop the conflict without resorting
to violence/technique.
Several years ago, my dad and
I were going to a local restaurant to grab a bite. My dad was the
driver, and we noticed that most of the spots were taken. As he drove
down another aisle he saw a car pull out which was going to leave an apparent
vacant spot. I said, "Dad, don't you see that there is another car
that had been waiting for the spot?" He said I am going to get in
there ahead of them. I told him that it was wrong, but he choose
not to listen. I could easily see that the two young guys in the
waiting vehicle were not pleased as he pulled in ahead of them. As
our car came to a stop I opened the door quickly and started to jump out.
My father said. "Where are you going so quickly?" I retorted, "I'm
going to try to fix the problem you just created." I quickly went over
to the other car and the two guys had no idea why I was there. I
told them that I was there to apologize for my dad's behavior, and that
I would move our car in a minute so they could reclaim the parking spot.
They looked at me in total disbelief. All of a sudden their anger
stopped and a smile came across their faces. One of them said, "It"s
ok, don't worry about it but thanks."
That to me was Aikido in action.
a potential problem could easily have occurred, but the tact I took created
a win win situation. I didn't feel any less a person for what I did,
and the potential problem never materialized. This mind set is what
students can take out of an Aikido based school curriculum.
So why hasn't Aikido started to take
hold in schools? There are several good reasons why Aikido is not
involved in school curriculums.
l. Aikido instructors have not approached the educational decision makers. Without the two sides sitting down and dialoging, Aikido will not filter into the schools.
2. Educational decision makers tend to be conservative. They might be uncomfortable about selling "Eastern Philosophy" to their constituencies. Several years ago my assistant principal asked me if I would teach a conflict resolution class based on the Aikido philosophy, but "let's hide the fact that it stems from "Eastern" roots."
3. Lastly you need Aikido instructors who are willing to teach in a public school setting, and who understand the young adolescent. There might be some outstanding Aikido instructors who would be willing to teach, but not have the background and skills to teach teenagers.
In conclusion, Aikido is the perfect model to be used in a school based curriculum to prevent violence and reduce conflict. However the actualizing of it might be more difficult than some of the actual Aikido techniques.