Abuse Survivors in Aikido Classes

Article Summary: 
An article about the issues abuse survivors face in studying Aikido and what Aikido instructors can do to help abuse survivors practice safely and derive greatest benefit from Aikido. 4800 words.
Publishing Information: 
Originally appeared in Aikido Journal, Vol 25 #3, 1998 and Vol 26 #1, 1999
PDF Download: 
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[First paragraph of the book] Many people who were physically and sexually abused as children come to study Aikido as adults in order to gain a sense of safety and a feeling that they are in control of what happens to their bodies and their lives. Aikido can be extraordinarily beneficial for abuse survivors, but they need special conditions to benefit from Aikido practice. There are special problems that abuse survivors bring to their practice, and there is special knowledge needed by instructors to enable survivors to practice safely and comfortably. 

FOOTNOTES

  1. For detailed instructions on how to do the basic breathing, body awareness, and centering exercises I teach, see the books on my website, www.being-in-movement.com. For much more information on how to teach abuse survivors, see my book Winning is Healing: Body Awareness and Empowerment for Abuse Survivors, which is available through my website.
Author Bio: 
PAUL LINDEN holds a sixth degree black belt in Aikido and has been practicing and teaching the art since 1969. In addition, he is an instructor of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education, holds a black belt in Isshin Ryu Karate, has his PhD in Physical Education, and is the developer of Being In Movement® mindbody training. His work involves the application of body and movement awareness education to such topics as stress management, conflict resolution, performance enhancement, and trauma recovery. He is the author of "Comfort at Your Computer: Body Awareness Training for Pain-Free Computer Use" and {Winning is Healing: Body Awareness and Empowerment for Abuse Survivors. He can be contacted at Aikido of Columbus, 221 Piedmont Road, Columbus, OH 43214, USA. (614) 262-3355. paullinden@aol.com. www.being-in-movement.com
Copyright info: 
Copyright © 1995 by Paul Linden. This article is copyrighted by Paul Linden; however, it may be freely reproduced and distributed for non-commercial uses as long as the complete article, including contact information and this copyright notice, are included.