Lessons I learn from my blind students | Lesson 1

Teaching Aikido to my blind students at Junior Blind of America has been so interesting and revealing. Their agility in learning complex techniques is quite amazing.


In a regular class at the Dojo, a technique is being demonstrated a few times by the instructor, from different angles and different speeds, without any verbal explanation. The students watch the teacher's demonstration, usually trying to concentrate on the participating body parts, each of the times it is being shown. First they look at the whole movement, then, maybe on the footwork, later the arms, the smaller details, and then again - looking at the whole thing. They also look at the Uke, who receives the technique.

When I teach at Junior Blind, each of my sighted students partners with a blind student. I verbally explain a technique as I demonstrate, while the sighted students apply the technique on the blind student. The first impression that my blind students get comes from audio and tactile sense. Mainly they feel how the technique is applied on them; what is the pressure point, which direction is it moving, how to grip, etc.. They get to use their touchy-feely sense, and then, organically response to it. So, when we change roles, they seem to have a "body understanding", which enables them to quickly apply a clear technique.

I am wondering about this clean transmission that my blind students demonstrate. It seems like, as sighted people, our vision and brain work in unison. We collect data and immediately process. Then, we act, trying to produce a good copy of what we saw. It may take us days, weeks, months, and even years to "get it". Maybe what we perceive with our eyes is so processed, translated, turn into conclusions - that we end up with something quite different than what was shown. Rather than seeing with our eyes alone, we see more through our mind. The results of our learning, as sighted people, seem to be more sluggish, busy and hesitant. We trust our vision much more than our other senses, hence creating a separation between reality and our perception of it.

I am sure this is just the first lesson in a series of teachings I am about to encounter, and I am thankful for this eye opening opportunity.

Outreach to blindness

Our Aikido school has been active with its outreach programs for the past two years. We mainly concentrated on our Outreach for Education, which included visits to middle and elementary schools; consisting of live demonstrations, as well as verbal material that intertwines with the current curriculum (like: ancient Japan, martial arts or world culture), and words of empowerment. We talk about following the heart, the pursuit of dreams and the practice of perseverance.

A few months ago, my husband, Eli, and I discussed the possibility of teaching Aikido to people with disabilities. He suggested we start teaching Aikido to the blind. His idea was that they could learn something that perhaps they had believed impossible. And by doing so, could gain confidence and improve the balance in their lives. Some of Aikido is based on various grabbing attacks and responses to those attacks. A blind person is able to utilize the contact of an encounter into an application of techniques. A great example is shown in this video of Steve Fyffe Sensei from Great Britain, demonstrating Randori with three attackers. Steve Fyffe Sensei has been blind from birth, and holds the rank of 4th Dan in Aikido.














We contacted several local organizations, and established the program with Junior Blind of America, one of L.A.'s largest non-profit schools for the blind. The program was set to a six month commitment, and started mid September, with a group of twelve blind adults. We started with basic movements and techniques, as well as falls (Ukemi).














Currently the program is in need of more mats, as the group grew bigger than originally anticipated. We would like to provide around a dozen mats for the program. We will welcome any individual, company, group or school that will be able to lend us mats, donate mats, or provide funds to purchase mats. Please contact us at info@northvalleyaikikai.org
We will greatly appreciate any help to this program.

Working with the students of Junior Blind has been truly a heart opening experience, for me and my students. We all feel the true human connection, whether we are disabled or not, blind, visually impaired or sighted. We all have great enthusiasm about this learning of Aikido, and for the new relationships that are being formed through this program.

“It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving.”

~ Richard Braunstein