Aikido East

We have been running three one-week, half-day camps that have been a lot of fun. Steven Kaufmann Sensei teaches the aikido class, assisted by our children's teacher, Sarah Kaneko, and teen counselors who have come up through our children's classes.

During each week of camp we have a different topic for the kids' art program. We learned origami and kite making with Candace Midgett. The kids love her. She always brings great ideas for us to try and beautiful papers for us to experiment with. We made samurai hats, spinners, poppers (really loud) during the first week. Last week we made kite and wind driven toys. This week we are absorbed in learning calligraphy with Alice Zhao. Calligraphy is very challenging!

We had an awesome Taiko drum lesson and demonstration from Rocky and Yoko Iwashima of the Triangle Taiko Club. We practiced on taped tires that were rolled into the dojo and then onto the mat. At the end we each got to try the traditional Taiko drum with a booming sound. The drum is hollowed out of one big oak tree. There were a couple of kids who could really pound a drum.

We also had a special guest artist, Mr. Who, The Kamishibai Man. He is really an actress named Laurie Wolf. Mr. Who wheeled in his bicycle and acted out and read traditional Japanese folk tales from a little kamishibai theatre perched on the back of his bicycle. At the end of the first two weeks, we invited the children's families to join us on the mat to watch funny Mr. Who as he acted the dragons, ogres, townspeople, and the children in the tales he told.

Camp starts and finishes with Aikido. Steven Kaufmann Sensei teaches with a wonderful balance of humor and discipline. He can reel the children's energy in and out like a trout on a line!! Our school emphasizes sitting like a rock (seiza) and standing like a tree (hanmi with kokyu) and the contrast between lots of movement and containing excitement. We use obstacle courses made of padded mats to practice all kinds of different rolls and coordination exercises.

The children have a great time moving around on these courses. We balance these with simple techniques that help the children practice cooperatively with a partner.

Even though it has been way too hot outside, Open Sky is having a great summer with the kids in our programs. As they say in the South, thank you lord for A/C.

Open Sky Aikikai's Children's Summer Camp 2007