Martial Arts: The Kids of Aikido Kenkyukai - Kai T.

• Kai, 5
• Student
• Aikido Kenkyukai Los Angeles

Kai began Aikido when he was 4 years old at AKI Los Angeles. When we’re not permitted to have in-person classes, he attends Aikido classes on our Virtual Dojo via Zoom.

He says he was nervous and scared his first couple classes, but as he reports, on his second day, he was “Very proud of myself and happy when I earned my white belt.”

Kai’s favorite thing about Aikido is the rolls. And it sure shows! He usually does as many or more than some of the older kids.

All of us can agree that we prefer training in person at the dojo over doing classes on zoom. But Kai says that online Aikido is “pretty good.”

When asked why he continues training, Kai told us, “I like learning about it, and it’s cool learning about it. There’s a lot of stuff that I still don’t know about Aikido.”

His mom added, “Kai likes achieving accomplishments and feeling progress in his learning.”

She told us that especially during this “COVID Era”, the benefits of Aikido training are invaluable, “Developing confidence, perseverance, discipline. It’s good physical exercise but also a good mental exercise as he learns to focus and listen independently.”

When he’s not studying or doing Aikido, Kai enjoys playing with his sister.

When asked what his life would be like without Aikido, he responded, “Worse because I won’t be able to survive if I get in danger in real life.”

In summary, Kai wanted to add one important point: “I really like Aikido.”