Name(s):

• Jacob Siegel '11

Title of your project:

• Inner City, Inner Peace [ St. Louis, MO ]

Abstract

• Inner City, Inner Peace is an initiative presenting the Japanese martial art aikido to young adults in the St. Louis region. The program targets middle school students who would normally not have access to self-defense training, in order to transform the destructive force of violence into a source of personal strength for young adults. The program will run for six weeks this summer in partnership with the Mathews-Dickey Boys' & Girls' Club and the Sacred Sword Aikido center. The program will combine physical instruction with opportunities for discussion, to make sure that messages about non-violence remain relevant to students' everyday lives. The specific benefits of the program include:
  
  • Rigorous physical exercise
  • Self-defense in physical and coercive encounters
  • Self-confidence, through a recognition of personal strength
  • Reinforcing personal discipline and values
  • Strengthening teamwork through basic principles like inner harmony, power-sharing, and balance
  • Building a caring community of positive, motivational peers
  • Learning to talk about violence and its transformation into peaceful energy