Florida Aikido Center Launches Free American Sign Language Program

Online, February 22, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Florida Aikido Center (www.flaikidocenter.com) is excited to announce the launch of a new program to offer lessons in the Japanese martial art of Aikido to members of Tampa Bay's deaf and hard of hearing community. To get the program started, the dojo - located on South Ave. in Drew Park just north of the Hillsborough Community College Dale Mabry campus - is offering free tuition to all ASL students and their families through August 31st.

The idea for the ASL program started a little more than a year ago when a potential student - Robert Young - hesitantly approached the dojo's owner and operator, Sensei Gina Boccolucci, looking to learn Aikido. His hesitation: he was hard of hearing and afraid his disability might prevent him from taking part in class. After some one-on-one classes, and a lot of learning on both sides, Gina had developed a series of signs for the different self-defense techniques used in Aikido, and Robert gained the confidence to join in with the dojo's regular classes.

According to Sensei Gina, "Working with Robert has been a very exciting and enriching experience, so I decided to take what we'd built and make a specific program out of it. I'm not fluent in ASL, but I do know enough to make simple sentences and teach the techniques. I'm hoping to learn as much about ASL from my students as they will from me about Aikido."

The dojo began running the ASL program earlier this month on Sunday afternoons from 12:15 to 1:30. To help get the word out about the dojo's new program, Sensei Gina reached out to the ASL programs at the University of South Florida, Hillsborough Community College and University of Tampa, as well as several deaf/hard of hearing organizations in the area. So far, there has been a very positive response from those organizations, and individuals from as far away as Pasco Country have responded.

"The people that have come in for the sign language classes so far have been very enthusiastic about learning and appreciative that we've created a program like this," said the class' co-instructor, Tomas Guerrero. "I don't know of another dojo in the area with a program like this, so I'm hoping more people in the community learn about the program and are encouraged to come try it out.

For those unfamiliar with Aikido, it ,is a defensive martial art developed in Japan by Morihei Ueshiba from a synthesis of Jujutsu-style grappling and Daito-ryu sword techniques. The word Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying with life energy" or "the way of harmonious spirit." Popularized in America in the 1980s and 1990s by movie star Steven Segal, the goal of an Aikido is for a practitioner to be able to defend him/herself using a series of evasion techniques, joint locks and throws, while also preventing serious harm from coming to their attacker.

About Florida Aikido Center
Open since 2008, the Florida Aikido Center offers an open, encouraging and respectful Aikido training environment to anybody ready and willing to learn. While the Florida Aikido Center is a "traditional" Japanese martial arts school, the atmosphere is friendly, accepting and ego-free, allowing students to better focus on attaining their specific goals - be they physical fitness, self-defense training, personal fulfillment or everyday stress relief. Florida Aikido Center is located at 4405 W. South Avenue, Tampa, FL 33614. For more information, please visit www.flaikidocenter.com.