I first started aikido over 40 years ago in my late 20s. On my first day on the mat, I was blown away by a simple demonstration of Ki and I was encouraged by the friendly Sensei (teacher) and my fellow students (aikidoka) to learn to defend myself from a basic attack.
Over the following years – which became decades – I enjoyed learning how to respond to a wide range of attacks without using aggression or deliberately inflicting pain. Even better, as I progressed through the Dan grades (black belts) the attacks and defences became more realistic and much faster.
Meanwhile, the subtle, gentle and yet effective power of ki challenged my thinking and beliefs. I discovered I didn’t need strength to defend myself – just ki. But if you read about ki online, don’t overthink what’s happening with it – just find out for yourself how effective it is by attending classes.
Aikido has given me the confidence to meet any difficult situations in everyday life without creating conflict or aggression. And best of all, in Ki AIkido, there are no competitions with winners and losers where I had to beat up someone one else. There were regular grading exams to demonstrate what I had learnt and keep me doing it correctly, of course.
Aikido has improved my balance, fitness and flexibility while I learnt to roll and fall safely – which are all a great help now I am 70 and have had a knee replacement. Amazingly, I still practice aikido, although I can no longer throw myself all around the mats as I did in my 30’s.
Wayne Harris,
Filton Ki Aikido club