Got an Unemployed
20-Something
Living in Your Basement?
AIKIDO Can Help!
Have you got an unemployed 20-something living in your basement playing video games all day? You’d really like him to get on with his life and find a job — any job — whether it “relates” to his degree or not. You know he’s smart. You know he’s talented. You know he’s perfectly capable of being self-sufficient. He’s just not motivated. You want him to develop some basic adult skills and learn how to deal with other human beings without a digital “screen” between them, right?
It’s a classic Catch-22. He needs a job where he can learn these skills and make mistakes without getting fired… but he can’t get the job until he has the skills. He needs a place to interact with real people face-to-face — not hide behind apps, text messages, and VR goggles. A place where he actually has to show up, shake hands, look people in the eye, and work with others in the same room.
That’s where AIKIDO training comes in.
AIKIDO is a Japanese martial art. It’s not a job and it doesn’t pay cash. What it does pay are dividends that matter more right now: higher personal standards, real-world social skills, and cultivating the habit of showing up. The quality of a person’s life is a direct reflection of the expectations of their peer group. So, who’s your basement dweller’s peer group right now? Does he even have one worth having?
By training AIKIDO, your son will learn to:
- Communicate with other adults and look them in the eye — instead of interacting with AI or avatars
- Discover that success requires showing up physically — not virtually
- Engage face-to-face instead of through a gaming interface
- Stay attentive and focused – instead of jumping at every text notification
- Think ahead to prevent problems – instead of waiting for the shit to hit the fan
- Internalize cause and effect – instead of blaming everything on luck
- Take action now to avoid pain later
Try AIKIDO for Free / Schedule a Visit
Non-smokers only, please!
AIKIDO is fun! It’s not a punishment. It’s a powerful tool for getting your son to engage with other adult human beings; and it’s something employers notice on a résumé because it signals proactiveness and commitment. While he’s learning self-defense (something every man should know anyway), he’s also learning patience, courtesy, politeness, and how to deal with people who are different from him — skills he should have picked up in high school and college but often didn’t, thanks to things like “Covid” and “remote learning”.
AIKIDO isn’t easy. He will fail. A lot. And that’s the whole point. He’ll learn that failing at something doesn’t have to be the end of the world. In fact, he’ll learn to fail with a little grace — even enthusiasm. When he fails at a video game, does he quit and say, “It’s pointless”? No. He starts over. He gets another turn. Why does he think real life is any different?
There’s an old Japanese proverb we say often at Castle Rock AIKIDO: “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Through repeated small failures at AIKIDO, he’ll learn what doesn’t work… and more importantly, what does. He even discover that failing can be fun. He’ll train with people who have failed more than he has — and that’s how real learning happens. He’ll take those skills and transfer them to employment and the rest of adult life.
At AIKIDO he’ll interact with mentors who know more than he does — about AIKIDO and about life. He’ll train with men and women who are not addicted to weed, vaping, video games, or social media. As he spends time around successful, productive, self-sufficient adults, he’ll start to emulate them without even realizing it. New values — real confidence, personal drive, pride in effort — will begin to take root.
By the way, at AIKIDO class, he might meet a prospective employer. He might even meet a nice girl. Imagine that!
Since he can’t (or won’t) get a job where he could learn these skills, make him learn them with us. Make continuing to live in your home contingent on attending AIKIDO class every week. Treat it like rent. (He is paying rent, right?)
You can even train together as parent and son. Give him the ultimatum. Get him out of the basement. Get him here. He can start this week. He may even fall in love with it the way so many of us have — and carry it with him for decades.
Life isn’t a video game and
it doesn’t magically come together
by hiding in the basement!
Call us today and come try a class for FREE!
We look forward to meeting you and your basement dweller!
(720) 221-3665
Try AIKIDO for Free/ Schedule a Visit
Non-smokers only, please!
English