Bryan Bateman, 5th Dan
I first stepped on the mat nearly 32 years ago. I was playing baseball at the time, and had just read the autobiography of Oh Sadaharu, a legendary Japanese baseball player, that practiced Aikido in order to help improve his batting. Coincidentally, a friend of mine mentioned that he was going to see a martial arts demonstration that same week, which turned out to be by the local Aikido club. I decided to go along with him out of interest.
At the demo, I witnessed a man throwing people around the mat and performing almost unbelievable actions when people were attacking him. When the demo finished, they asked if anyone watching would like to come and give it a go. What I’d seen was so intriguing I decided to give it a try. This was a big step for me, I’d tried both Judo and Karate when I was much younger and quit them both pretty quickly. Nervously I made my way down the auditorium to the mat, took my shoes off and stepped on.
It was like stepping into another world. I wouldn’t say that I was uncoordinated, I’d always been half decent at most sports, but I was being shown how to make people fall over or pin people with what seemed like no effort whilst at the same time was failing miserably to have any effect myself.
It would have been easy to walk away from Aikido after that session in the same way I’d left Judo and Karate previously. I wasn’t a martial artist I hated it previously, didn’t like being hit or being hurt whilst practicing. However, something sparked inside of me and I wanted to learn and understand more about Aikido.
The path has been full of adventure, techniques laced with frustration and sometimes pain. Walls to run into, time and again before finding a way to climb over them. Visits to other countries, France, Norway, America but most specifically Japan. Meeting other like minded people, all walking the same path, some a few steps in front of me, some further behind, some walking faster, some slower.
Over the years, many I have met have changed direction and stepped away from Aikido. They all have their own reasons, and if I’m honest, I have thought about stepping away too at times. But, when I’m not on the mat, I frequently find myself thinking about Aikido, that spark is still alive and burning inside……. I just want to learn and understand more about Aikido.
I’d like to thank Nakao Sensei and Akiko san for all their help and inspiration over the years, and for recommending me for 5th Dan.