We students need diversions from our usually stressful academic concerns. There’s drinking of course, but we all know that too much of it gives one that terrible headache the morning after. For quite a while since I arrived in Belgium, I was on the hunt for an activity that’s fun, relaxing, and fulfilling at the same time. I’m happy to say that I’ve come upon something that’s all of these things. I found aikido.

I’m no stranger to sports, since I played basketball in high school and college. Aikido, however, is almost completely different from sports I played before. We know that in any game or sport there are basic rules and moves one has to learn so as to be able to do it properly and become better at it, to keep oneself (and others) from getting hurt, and to not make a fool of oneself. To play basketball, you have to learn to how to correctly dribble, run with the ball, pass, shoot, defend, and so on. But the basic attitude one has to have in one sport does not necessarily apply in another. In basketball, you have to be competitive, cunning, and ready to bend the rules at times to gain advantage. But these things are absent in aikido. Yes, it is a martial art and as such there are moves therein that can be used to inflict some amount of pain. Yet this martial art was developed based on principles such as balance, harmony, and peace. Thus unlike in basketball and similar sports where the ultimate objective is to upend the opponent and win, in aikido it is more about learning principles and techniques at one’s own pace, alongside other aikidokas or aikido practitioners. Aikido techniques are, moreover, geared less towards hurting or destroying the opponent. Yes, they can indeed be used to neutralize an aggressor, but this is to be achieved in ways that minimize damage and pain. “Thus the attacked is saved from harm, and the attacker is saved from sin,” as Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido, teaches us.
All this does not mean that aikido isn’t a challenging sport. During the first couple of weeks with the aikido club Aikikai Raktenjuku, the main things I had to learn were how to fall down and roll properly (this, I was told and as I now fully understand, is for one’s own safety). In one training session, all I did was rolll forward and backwards and sweat like a pig for nearly two hours! It’s natural that it’s exhausting (specially because I don’t exactly have the physical condition of Kobe or Nadal) and a bit confusing at first. A sensei or teacher demonstrates a certain technique that you will have to try to execute with a partner. The movements you have to perform vary in complexity. Being the slow-learner that I am, I don’t always get what’s going on. Fortunately, the other members have always been helpful and very patient in explaining and showing things to me.
I would recommend aikido to anyone who’s looking for a hobby or sport that helps improve both physical and mental fitness. Apart from these, at least with
Like countless other students from far-flung corners of the globe, I arrived in Leuven tired and a bit disoriented. Exhausted because of the long-journey, a little confused becase of all the new things, faces, and almost unintelligible signs and unpronounceable names that greeted me upon my arrival. One is bombarded with a barrage of new information in a strange language. I remember the first time I saw the sign on the side of the buses in Leuven, “De Lijn,” and I just found it weird, since nothing even remotely similar exists in my mother tongue, that the letters “i” and “j” can be combined like that.
Even during my first couple of weeks in Leuven, I still had that strange feeling whenever I hear people speaking in the language or when I see Dutch words on TV. Very early on, I noticed that some of my Belgian floormates religiously watched The Simpsons and the series Friends each afternoon in the common kitchen. Given that they are in English, watching these shows was never a problem for me. But it was amusing to see Dutch subtitles on the TV screen. I always tried to read them then, but most of the words just seemed gibberish to me.
Of course, there are so many Dutch words that look and sound similar to their English counterparts, like “welkom,” “melk,” “markt”—and let’s not forget the essential ones, “wijn” and “bier.” Knowing a couple of these, you can order your drinks at bars and cafès with relative ease, but then you can’t go very far with them. You can only stare blankly, or smile and pretend you understand, or promptly switch to English the aikido club I now belong to, there’s that added bonus of meeting interesting people and making new friends. I always enjoy the after-training chats over drinks we have. (Yes, drinking and aikido are not mutually exclusive after all!). I can also honestly say that the people I’ve met through the club are some of the friendliest Belgians I’ve come across in my four years here in Leuven. So if you are still in search of a hobby or a sport, why don’t you give aikido a try? It requires skill, grace, patience, and determination. It has been compared to dancing, ballet, and yoga, and has also been called “origami with people.” It lets you discover a lot of things your body can do and teaches you how to react in different situations. It promotes peace, meditation, and respect for others. It is so many things—and maybe it’s something for you. |
For more information, visit www.raktenjuku.be/2009/index.php or call 0495 41 73 39.