Aikido strives for more popularity

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If you know a little bit about action movie star Steven Seagal, maybe you already know that he is a master of aikido, a self defense martial art originally from Japan.

Invented by Morihei Ueshiba in 1942 from several older forms of Japanese martial arts, aikido is distinguished from other martial arts as it is claimed as the only pure self defense.

Aikidoka (aikido practitioners) are well known for their skills in throwing and manipulating opponents' body joints to neutralize them.

We can watch Seagal in his movies defeating the enemies only with his bare hands throwing them all over the place or locking their joints.

"Aikido actually teaches harmony in life and those things we see in Seagal's movies do not totally represent aikido. It has been modified to appease the market," sensei (master) Ferdiansyah of the Indonesian Aikido Foundation (KBAI) told The Jakarta Post earlier this week on the sidelines of training and examination sessions on Tuesday.

"The main principle is how to defend yourself while at the same time preventing both ourselves and the attackers from sustaining any injuries," he added.

Boasting some 2,000 aikidoka and 17 dojo, Ferdiansyah, who holds a fifth dan black belt, said KBAI was the only Indonesian aikido organization recognized by the Honbu dojo or aikido headquarters in Japan.

"While we are self-sufficient financially, KBAI gets technical and administrative support from the headquarters," he said.

"Instructors from the headquarters visit us once a year to hold training sessions as well as black belt examinations."

This year the headquarters sent seventh dan Koichi Toriumi and fourth dan Eiji Katsurada to oversee the examination and training sessions.

A female student, Mia Marianne told the Post that she found aikido was suitable for her to deal with the daily harsh life.

"Sometimes I have to take the bus while working and aikido gives me a sense of confidence because I know that I can defend myself," said.

"Once I managed to prevent a thief from snatching my bag by locking his hand."

KBAI has not only accepted Indonesian students but also expatriate ones. One of the them is 64-year-old Stanley Okahara who has been living here for many years.

"Earlier, I learned judo and karate in Japan. But then I decided to learn aikido because there is less chance of injury, unlike judo or karate," he said.

There are also expatriate practitioners in other clubs such as at the American Embassy Club, in which Okahara also is a member.

Now that KBAI has been somewhat organized here, Ferdiansyah is setting another goal to achieve.

"I want the aikidoka to be professionals in a sense that they can use their skills to earn a living. It has been a common practice in other countries," he said.

"Even some of our aikidoka started their careers abroad by giving aikido classes at local dojo in other countries."