Aikido 101 – From an Oldie's Standpoint

All right, I’m not that old (yet) but there comes a time when your mind no longer is in tune with your physical body. Guys like myself who used to be very active and decent with sports always has the mindset of being able to perform certain things, but the body is physically incapable of performing at that same level due to age, wear-and-tear, and bulge.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m determined to shed several percentage of my bodyfat and just be active again, for my own sake and for my family as well, and this week Yoki and I enrolled in an Aikido class near at our community center.

Yoki’s naturally excited to don a gi as he feels like he’s Ryu from Street Fighter. I am just as excited as this experience is quite new to me.

Rewinding my life back to 1983, I started Shotokan Karate at around 7-years old together with my sister, Carol, and my mom. I kept at it, twice a week until 1991 or so, then the practice sessions got serious and went up to 3-4x a week until I left for the United States for college in late 1994.

I had a two-year hiatus in martial arts until I found a qualifier Karate tournament in Vermont that allowed me to compete even if I’m not enrolled in a U.S. dojo. So for another 8 months or so, I was back at it and practiced some kick-boxing in my dorm room until I finally shelved my phase of martial-arts obsession in ’98.

Fast-forward to 2010, I’m back in a dojo, wearing a gi, and for the first time in almost two decades, a WHITE BELTER again. It felt weird but humbling at the same time. I know NOTHING about Aikido and hold no presumptions about the defensive art so I was literally starting from ground zero.

The same as the Yokes!

Yes, he’s my classmate now. We’re equals inside the dojo, and as silly as it may look for a 34 year-old fatso to wear a white belt, I was ecstatic about it. I had to give it my best not just to get my money’s worth, but also to show my son it’s alright to look silly, clumsy, hopeless when you’re starting.

He (along with everybody else in the dojo) was having quite a feast watching me attempting to roll gracefully across the mat, and failing – miserably.

I just found it challenging, and honestly, I was having so much fun doing it.

Looking back, I appreciate what my mom did for me and my sis when we first started Karate. She was in her mid-40s then, my sister was in her mid-teens already, and I was 7. She joined to make us comfortable and she stayed at it until she got her yellow belt and saw that both her kids were genuinely having fun and doing well already. Then she stopped.

Tonight, I understood how awkward it is to be schooled  (literally and figuratively) by guys and gals half your age.

We had a treat in our first session as well, the club had a group of senior Senseis who just flew in from Shanghai conducting lessons for the club’s anniversary.

After an hour-and-a-half of basic throws, rolls, joint locks, and drills, Yokes was really into it and he really enjoyed the company of his new friends and his patient teacher.

I, on the other hand, am sore as heck. My hips and ab (no abs yet) feel like I just fell off two flights of stairs sideways. That’s what happens if you’ve been dormant for over 5 years LOL.

Huge thanks for Vio and Nicky for waiting for us and the pics as well. I hope you guys were entertained. Hehe.

I’m anxiously waiting for next week’s class now. Not just to see if I can progress and look less silly, but to see how far Yokes can surpass me in Aikido. He’s already a better swimmer than I am when I was 6, I have no doubts that he’ll just leapfrog over me in Aikido.

(Embarrassing videos to follow)