This week I took my very first Aikido class. I’ve been promising myself for years that I’d take up some sort of self-defence class, but it’s one of those things I’ve never quite gotten around to. However, the prospect of travelling to South America, combined with my brother taking up the new skill (he’s already a black belt in Karate) finally pushed the issue. So, on Thursday evening I found myself lugging around heavy mats, surrounding by men shamelessly changing into their white pyjama-like outfits in front of me.
The closest I’ve ever come to a martial arts class before is aerobic kick boxing. Rather than true self-defence, that class was more about endurance through an endless series of squats. This, on the other hand, is a full contact ‘grappling’ martial art. This is 6’3″ 16st men throwing each other around. This is wrist bending, elbow popping, knee in your back defence against attack. For reference, I am a 5’3″ ex-gymnast. ‘Imposing’ is likely the last word anyone would use to describe my stature. The beauty of Aikido, though, is that you are trained to use the strength and weight of your opponent against them.
Not entirely sure what to expect from the class, I got more and more nervous as the day approached. I feared I would look ridiculous and make a fool out of myself. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be good at it. And I was certainly worried that I was going to get hurt. But, i used those fears as a motivation to go. If it was scary, then it was probably going to be interesting.
Aikido
And interesting it was. Any concerns I’d had about them taking it slow for the beginners were quashed very quickly. We were thrown right in to learning the break-falls. i.e. how to limit the damage to yourself when you’re thrown unceremoniously to the floor. With those skills stored away at the back of our minds, we moved right on to the six main defensive moves. (The Japanese name for which I haven’t managed to grasp as yet.) These six moves are surprisingly effective ways to counter a variety of attacks. The intention is to break the attacker’s balance, put them down on the floor and then be in a position to get away. Unfortunately, the only way to learn the technique is by doing. Which is fine, until you become the attacker. Time after time I found myself put down on the floor until I double tapped to let the instructor know I’d had enough.
The art was developed with an attack by sword in mind. And so, at one point the rubber knife was pulled out and our hypothetical attack took one step closer to being realistic. It was a reminder that the aim is not simply to remember the correct footwork, but to actually protect yourself from a violent attacker.
My wrists were sore from being continually twisted back unnaturally. My elbows were threatening to give in and I was getting slightly dizzy from my repeated tumbles to the floor. And yet, surprisingly, it was great fun. I loved how quickly we were taught real and practical methods for countering an attack. And I loved that when I got it right, I could effectively throw my large and certainly imposing brother to the floor. Even after only one lesson I’m sure that the techniques learnt will be a massive boost to my confidence and I can’t wait to go back and learn some more. I’m so excited to get to the point where my responses become less choreographed and more instinctual. And hopefully, by the time I get to that point, I won’t ache so much the next day!
What training have you undertaken before travels? Would you ever consider a self- defence class to add to your confidence to travel abroad?
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