SkillAi

Aikido methodology as a tool for skills development for young people with fewer opportunities.


Project Objective

A common methodology of specialized Aikido trainings with the aim to develop the skills young people need for reducing disruptive and assaultive behaviour among children in schools.



SkillAi Project is a collaboration between Slovenian, Dutch and Hungarian Aikido sports organizations. It addresses the topic of promoting education through sport, with a special focus on providing young people with the tools for dealing with aggression and bullying.

Within the project we’ve prepared and facilitated workshops for young people with a special focus on those who lack social and emotional skills to help them respond constructively to aggression and violence.

With the use of Aikido as a methodological tool and the implementation of Aikido’s non-competitive values and principles, we’ve been developing specific skills and competences in youth in order for them to efficiently cope with different types of aggression.

Our school workshops target young people aged from 11 to 15 years. This is the age when aggression, as well as bullying rates, increase significantly in most European countries.

The youth workers and trainers involved in the project have evaluated methodologies for the implementation of the above principles in a school environment. Throughout the project, trainers have developed a series of training modules published in the online manual that can be freely used in the years to come by both participating organizations and any other interested parties.

During the project timeline 2018-2020, we facilitated 160 Aikido workshops in each project country and 3 international youth seminars between the partners. The result of our collaboration is an online manual for Aikido trainers and facilitators working with children that can be used as an addition to their existing workshops and practice.



Values

The implementation of Aikido’s non-competitive values helps youth invest in specific skills and competences in order for them to efficiently cope with different types of aggressions, with a specific focus on bullying.

Workshops

Workshops for young people with fewer opportunities with a special focus on the young people who lack social and emotional skills to respond constructively to internal and external aggression.

Toolbox

Toolbox of principles that will allow participants to resolve conflict in a peaceful, non-competitive way in parallel with existing methods for conflict resolution.



Video message of Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport about SkillAi

... I have recently had the opportunity to visit an Erasmus+ project that promotes Aikido as a tool to reduce aggression in schools. It's a brave initiative that demonstrates how Aikido can contribute to mitigate pressing problems of our society.

Building a strong bridge between physical activities and education is one of our most important priorities. Aikido being a spiritual martial art has an enormous potential to support this objective. That is why I was very happy to learn that several national Aikido Federation's from the EU decided to revive and reform the European Aikido Federation.