Adventurasia Community

(Written by Mike L., originally posted on adventurasia.freezope.org around 2003~2004. Note that the webpage that the author mentions is currently down, but will be added in the future.)

I came to the land of the rising sun more than two years ago (yikes!!). Aside from the regular routine of working, eating, and sleeping, I knew I wouldn’t be here forever, so I wanted to do something that I could bring back with me. And, since I was in Japan, I wanted to pursue something Japanese.

I went through many “Japanese” things in my mind. Calligraphy? Nope, to boring. Karate? Been there, done that. Pachinko? Too smoky and expensive. Plus there isn’t any skill involved. Eating Nattou? Well, it is a skill, but not really something I would want to show off. “Look at me!! I can eat something that looks like it should be regurgitated instead!” After 2 months, my search ended. AIKIDO. What a perfect idea.

I decided to pursue Aikido because I really liked the idea that power and strength fell secondary to technique. Unlike other martial arts, like Judo and Karate, it doesn’t matter how big and strong you are. In those other arts, the bigger guy has much better odds of winning a match. But in Aikido, good technique is much more important in incapacitating your opponent. The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, was quite a small man in stature…Yet, he was one person to claim never to have been thrown. And it wasn’t because he had bad breath. At first, doing those ukemi (rolls) seemed unbelievably difficult. The mere thought of jumping head first into the ground did not seem appealing to me, but after countless hours of practice and countless hours of sleepless nights because of my aching back, I managed to give the impression to others that I knew how to roll. Slowly, I began my training, starting with the very basics. Two years into it, I have achieved only my 3kyu, and I realize that I am only starting to skim the surface of what true Aikido has to offer. Soon I will head back to Canada, my home country. Regretfully I will not be able to get my black belt here, and I realize that the quality of training here, in the home origin of the sport, is completely uncomparable to the training I am likely to get at home. However, I will not give up hope. I will continue training at home until I am no longer physically able to continue. Not because I get as fat as Steven Segal either. If you would like to read more about my experiences in Aikido, or are curious about starting Aikido yourself, check out my webpage. I have made a webpage dedicated to the study of Aikido in Japan, and have put some tips on getting started as well as pictures, links, and general information.

Filed under: Japan