My first Aikido Lesson
Today I participated in my first Aikido class.
Since I was young I’ve dabbled in many martial arts; Judo for a couple of years although the small school never really got the students graded and I ended up with just two red notches on my white belt.
I got a little bored of Judo purely because all my friends were learning to punch and kick so I joined up for Ju-Jitsu getting to the similarly pathetic yellow belt before realizing that if I could get a yellow belt then the grading system was obviously based on paying the school enough money and certainly not on the development of any true skills.
Barry Price recently reminded me about my personal and somewhat unique martial art party-trick back in my good old Birkdale High School days. The idea was to break out of headlocks by just dribbling all over my attacker. Whilst probably not the most practical technique in a street brawl I do belive it was effective in niche situations.
During university I got interested in Taekwondo and studied it quite intensively for 18 months. Foolishly I paired up with the most pathetic old man there rather than searching out a mentor and, predictably didn’t get very far.
After graduating from university I did actually plan to go to live in Korea so that I could take my Taekwondo seriously until discovering Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) which I practiced almost daily for 6 months when I arrived in Bangkok.
Muay Thai was the only martial art I’ve studied which, even 2 years after my last class I could probably use effectively and I am still impressed that after all this time, my shins are still in a pretty tough condition. I guess the judo skills of break-falling might also be a lifeskill I’ve acquired as well.
So … why Aikido?
I’ve always been interested in Aikido. I know my friends such as Mariana have always enthused about it to me and I love the fact that it is perfect for guys like me who have to raise myself on my toes just using a urinal. My call to action came a month ago when - bored - I downloaded a documentary about Steven Seagal called “The Path Beyond Thought”.
The documentary gives Seagal a lot of credibility and until that time I just assumed him to be a dumb action star. The footage of the training, the Randoori (defending yourself against multiple attackers) and the spiritual side of the art really impressed me.
It just so happens that a 7th-Dan Japanese Aikido Sensai (Teacher) holds classes in Bangkok three times a week. 7th dan is extremely impressive seeing as there are apparently only about half a dozen 8th dan masters worldwide, and the Japanese ethos is that a 7th dan sensai can never be promoted higher if his teacher is still alive. He is Japanese but the classes are taught in English. Both classes I’ve attended have had only half a dozen students so I will be getting good personal attention. I can’t imagine getting this level of teaching excellence as a beginner anywhere else. The lessons are extremely good value for money too.
I’ll be training three times a week when possible, Monday & Wednesday nights and Saturday evenings. The school I’m studying at is Dance-Center. Click here for details of my Aikido School and teacher
