Sierra Aikido

Programs: Aikido for children and teens (ages 6-18) - all program services, including the members of the youth program, share the aikido characteristics of learning to transcend fighting, and gaining both physical and emotional health through mind/body integration. The children are learning teamwork and teaching newer students by example, as well as aspects of japanese, and, parenthetically, asian culture, and some japanese language. Older children have the opportunity for community service.

aikido for adults (ages 14 to 70+) - the adult program embodies the same characteristics as the youth program. As their fitness improves the adults learn to train cooperatively with a variety of ethnicities and to be mentored by youths and other adults with longer experience.

aikido for special needs: the special needs (autism, asperger's, add, etc. ) program uses the free play and aikido-based physical activities to stimulate neural activity and prepare the children for mainstreaming.

parent-child aikido: the family program operates in parent/child pairs with children as young as four. The youngest children are becoming socialized, and learn through self discovery and interaction through both guided and free play with older children, volunteers and other parents.

integrated aikido with japanese language (ages 10 and up): up to 15 children and high school teenagers participate in our program to provide a combination of physical activity, based on aikido, and learning japanese and culture.

aikido at college track: while learning aikido, students learned focus, mentoring and self directed learning while concurrently exposed to the elements of japanese culture and martial arts. Nearly 30 low income and minority college-bound high school students go through the program annually.

aikido for "youth at risk": transferred the program internally to san mateo county nonprofit organizations due to sharply reduced funding for community programs nationwide.