Standardized testing season begins in the Spring students will be placed in “high stakes” scenarios that produce “test-anxiety” which is shown to dramatically affect performance. We all face anxiety in our day to day lives but the practice of Aikido can reduce the impact and support performance that reflects our best abilities.
Below is a paragraph from a proposal to use Aikido to reduce test-anxiety. There is research looking at how anxiety effects performance for athletes, students, police officers, and more but the results are the same as reflected in the paragraph below; we cannot perform at our best if pressure=anxiety.
Students who struggle with attendance, academic performance, and discipline also struggle with self-regulation, anxiety, attention, and self-efficacy. (Caraway, Tucker, Reinke, Hall 2003; Barnett 2011) These struggles make it difficult for standardized tests to accurately assess student achievement; research shows that test anxiety and lower self-efficacy are directly related to lower scores on high-stakes tests. (von der Embse, Witmer 2014) Research demonstrates that support programs using traditional martial arts, meditation, yoga, and relaxation practices significantly reduce the impacts of these “at-risk” factors. (Lakes, Hoyt 2004; Bodin, Martinsen 2004; Rahona López, 2013; Lobman 2013)
References
Barnett, J. R. (2011). Coping Style as a Mediator to the Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Self-esteem and Anxiety for Juvenile Delinquent Males (Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University).
Bodin, T., Martinsen, E. W. (2004). Mood and self-efficacy during acute exercise in clinical depression. A randomized, controlled study. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 26(4), 623-633.
Caraway, K., Tucker, C. M., Reinke, W. M., Hall, C. (2003). Self‐efficacy, goal orientation, and fear of failure as predictors of school engagement in high school students. Psychology in the Schools, 40(4), 417-427.
von der Embse, N. P., Witmer, S. E. (2014). High-stakes accountability: Student anxiety and large-scale testing. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 30(2), 132-156.
Lakes, K. D., Hoyt, W. T. (2004). Promoting self-regulation through school-based martial arts
training. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25(3), 283-302.
Layton, C. (1990). Anxiety in black-belt and nonblack-belt traditional karateka. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71(3), 905-906.
Lobman, C. (2013). “I Feel Nervous… Very Nervous:” Addressing Test Anxiety in Inner City Schools Through Play and Performance. Urban Education, 0042085913478621.
Lothes, J., Hakan, R., Kassab, K. (2013). Aikido Experience and its Relationship to Mindfulness: A Two Part Study 1. Perceptual & Motor Skills, 116(1), 30-39.
Rahona López, J. J. (2013). Embodiment and mood regulation: An experimental approach to the role of the
body in mood regulation processes. Cognición corpórea y regulación anímica: aproximación
experimental al papel del cuerpo en los procesos de regulación emocional (Doctoral dissertation,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid).
Steyn, B. M. J., Roux, S. (2009). Aggression and psychological well-being of adolescent Tae
Kwon Do participants in comparison with hockey participants and non-sport group.
African Journal for Physical Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 15(1), 32-43.
This is really interesting and something that is being talked about a lot for physical activity in general as a stress and anxiety reducer. The article shown in this post mentioned to use things like aikido, traditional martial arts and the likes as a way to reduce stress and anxiety associated with things like the stress and anxiety of test taking. I know I really enjoy taking aikido and even though it is technically a class it seems like there is less pressure and the physical part definitely helps relieve it. I know in high school I did yoga in the mornings and did really good on tests or at work. I have stopped that since being in college and am thinking maybe it is something I should take up again to improve my schooling. It may also be worth staying in aikido or other martial arts as I hope to get a job in criminal justice. This notion of using these disciplines to reduce stress and anxiety is definitely something useful that can be appreciated by many people. It also seems like it could be a great option because things like aikido and yoga could e used by a lot of people to relieve stress especially if they have a handicap, are not super fit or just want something more low impact or less intense. This is definitely something more people should consider to decompress from work.
Submitted by VCU Student
In the blog post entitled Performing under Pressure and the Cost of Anxiety, the detrimental effects of standardized testing are discussed, along with coping mechanisms such as Aikido. This post hit very close to home since I myself am a graduating senior. All your life you are told, “Do well in school, so you can go to college, and not flip burgers for the rest of your life”. Unfortunately, in today’s job market, college grads are flipping burgers while trying to find an “adult job”. The amount of stress involved with being the best in college is astronomical since the job market is so saturated. I can honestly say that taking Aikido for a semester has taught more about test coping than my entire college career. Recently, I have been dealing with an astronomical amount stress due to a cancer scare. While I now know I don’t have colon cancer, I am still unhealthy, and that alone has almost taken over my life. On top of my health issues, I am working part-time while in school. I had decided to quit my job to focus on my health and my last semester of school and that terrified me. Two weeks ago while in class, the reality of my life and situation hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt completely overwhelmed and depressed and I began having a panic attack in class. In that moment, I began using the Aikido breathing technique I had learned only a day before in an attempt to bring down my heart rate. It was the technique that allowed you to hold your breath more by being aware of your breathing. By using that technique, I was able to successfully calm myself down without drawing any attention to myself and finish my class. If educators were able to incorporate breathing techniques in their daily instruction, I believe that test scores would increase, and the risk for mental instabilities among their students would greatly decrease.
As a fourth year college student I can greatly validate that anxiety and life stressors negatively impact exam. Especially when there is already so much pressure riding on that one exam. One exam means so many things that place pressure on the student such as a bad grade could mean failing the course, ruining your GPA, etc. In the case of students in public school it could cost a teacher their salary and even job.
Aikido definitely helps me just take my mind of the world and focus on practice. I believe that Aikido will greatly reduce the anxiety levels in students. It will also help teach them discipline and focus among other things. During finals VCU brings in therapy dogs to help reduce stress and testing anxiety but I think they should also incorporate Aikido into finals week. I know as someone who takes Aikido classes I will be enjoying the benefits of low levels of anxiety.
I think that using Aikido as a method of reducing stress and test anxiety is a really great idea. The focus on breathing and release of tension is very useful in these sorts of scenarios. I wish that I had started doing yoga or a martial arts practice such as Aikido sooner as I believe that it would have really helped with my standardized testing such as the SAT and AP tests. As a musician, these sorts of practices will also be useful to me later in my life. Performing is always nerve wracking no matter how seasoned the musician. Having practices that focus on releasing tension is incredibly useful to musicians as tension is evident in our sound. Performances can be particularly stressful when your grades depend on it such as end of the year exams known as juries. Aikido and music also have a great deal in common in that they both require focus and discipline. I think that the regular practice of Aikido could help performers find a positive outlet for nerves and anxiety. The discipline required for both would create a positive feedback loop so that both performance levels and mastery of martial practice would increase