No-Fall and Low-Impact Aikido – Educators’ Workshop

Panel Discussion with Senior Citizen Students

Members of the Aikido in Fredericksburg Seniors No-Fall class share how and why Aikido is interesting for them and how it contributes to their joy and fitness.

Evolution of a No-Fall Aikido Class by Aviv Sensei

Aviv Goldsmith Sensei lays out the step-by-step approach that was used by Aikido in Fredericksburg to develop the succesful No-Fall Aikido Class for senior citizens.  He discusses considerations and ideas for marketing, ranking, curriculum, and class organization.

No-Fall Aikido as a Modality to Enhance PTSD Recovery for Veterans with Tom Osborn Sensei

Tom Osborn Sensei shares methods and stories that can be helpful for any instructor working with trauma survivors.  Of course, students with PTSD should be under the care of a therapist or a physician.  Since this seminar Tom Sensei has passed away but his work lives on.

Tom Sensei was a Veteran with 43 years of Aikido experience and a blackbelt in karate. He served in the US Army for 8 ½ years in heavy equipment training, a year and a half in the 101st Airborne, and 6+ years in Special Forces. His Aikido training led him to discover that Aikido can be an effective modality for minimizing the effects of Combat Related PTSD. His book, Combat Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, A Holistic Approach, and the classes he tought were based on personal experience and his insightful work with veterans with CRPTSD and also disadvantaged inner city youth.  He and his wife Fran, who continues their work, founded Keganin no Senshi, a non-profit organization dedication to bringing Aikido principles to Veterans with PTSD.

Low-Impact Classes for Anyone by Michael Aloia Sensei

Michael Sensei uses warm-ups to strengthen the core, the legs, and improve balance.  He goes on to show a low-impact way of training that could augment regular Aikido training or could be be its own form of ptraining for ractitioners that can’t do full ukemi.

Gentle releases, a focus on blending, use of soft landings, and intermediate stopping points in technique are emphasized.

Michael Aloia Sensei, Asahi Schools of Aikido, Pennsylvania, enjoys the fluidity and freedom that Aikido provides while focusing on the martial aspects.  Aloia Sensei believes Aikido, which he has studied for decades, encompasses all the arts and is the vehicle by which a martial artist truly becomes well rounded. Sensei is a fitness trainer and Dojo Cho of the Asahi Schools of Aikido which maintains two locations in Pennsylvania. He has been featured in several instructional DVD titles and is the author of the book How Aikido Can Change the World and co-author of Rescuer Mindset.

Instructors Roundtable moderated by Aviv Sensei

Aviv Sensei moderates the circle discussion.  Insightful discussion from participating Aikido senseis about how they can use the skills and methods from the seminar both within their regular Aikido classes and in No-Fall and Low-Impact classes.

Hidden gems abound in the instructors’ sharing.

Next Steps
The roundtable discussion among instructor participants continues to focus on steps that can be taken in any dojo to start or enhance a no-fall or low-impact Aikido program.  Be inspired!