My daughter (8) has been taking classes for close to 3 years now and is now a purple belt in the Aikido Kidz division. Her self esteem is very high and she has become even more confident in her attitude about school and life! The lessons that are taught by Sensei Morris and his excellent group of instructors have translated into her daily life. Also, the Aikido School of Self Defense I guess is in its 10th year this year, with Sensei Morris recently being promoted to a 3rd-degree Black Belt. That speaks volumes in my opinion when we were looking for a good martial arts school. We also didn't want my daughter to just learn punching and kicking and other offensive moves. Aikdio truly is a Defensive art and is great for kids that choose to defend themselves instead of fighting with the attacker -- I'd rather have my daughter defend herself from a bully or predator and be able to run away instead of standing there trying to hit or kick the attacker. A child her age needs to learn how to get away from the situation safely instead of thinking that they can go toe to toe with someone. Better yet, learning how to diffuse a situation by remaining calm would be better and she has learned how to deal with situations in life where she used to "wig out" over, but now she takes everything in stride! I recommend this school so much so that I have actually joined as well! I've lost 15 pounds and feel better myself! Before you send your child to any Aikido or martial arts school make sure that the instructor has a Black Belt or beyond and is looking out for the needs of their students and not just trying to get some money out of them -- I was amazed by Sensei Morris' generosity in teaching some children that were underprivileged and the time and effort he puts into their well-being. You don't get to stay in business for this long without doing a lot of things right!
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