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"Little Red Schoolhouse: The Movie"

The "Little Red Schoolhouse" is the colonial American version of teaching children of all ages together within one room, a system common in all countries at one time or another, especially in rural or remote areas. The term was a humorous description of group education of children in colonial America up to the end of the 19th, and into the early 20th, century.

Similarly, at Sierra Aikido children of all ages learn Aikido together from up to 4 adult senseis giving both group and individual instruction, blended with opportunities for self-discovery training with their peers and senior kids teaching and serving as role models.

Training Approach

Title	The "Plot"	Clip Size ( Megabytes )	Runtime ( mins:secs )
Teaching New Kids	During their initial sessions new students pair up with a more advanced student who is close in age and trained to work with beginners. "Newbies" learn the proper stance, correct posture and how to execute Aikido throws effectively from the start. The other, more experienced, students practice throws and falls with each other under broader supervision from adult assistant instructors who are helping the individual pairs improve their technique. The two chief instructors circulate among all the students during every class, giving help and encouragement.	4 Kb	1:51
The General Class	During the first hour, kids of all ages often practice together. Here the kids form groups of three to practice falling on their correct ( kneeling ) side when thrown into a back fall. The more experienced students help the youngest and newest students. Senior and assistant instructors circulate continuously, keeping the class flowing.	2.3 Mb	1:28
Older Kids Class	The older kids who are experienced throwing and falling and able to learn with minimal interference from the instructors stay for a second hour of training. In addition to learning new throws, they practice the familiar ones in greater depth, internalizing the movements and making the techniques more effective. Here several sets of kids over the age of 10 improve the "flow" and smoothness of their technique throwing each other back and forth across the room. With pointers from the instructors the kids learn to sense, and use, their partners' speed and momentum to throw them safely. The "attacking" partner practices attacking smoothly and vigorously, and taking safe, smooth falls.	2.1 Mb	1:21
Total Megabytes and Running Time ( Rounded ):		4.4 Megabytes	5 minutes

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