Who would’ve thought it: Bristol’s martial arts scene is bigger than ever, with Ki Aikido classes popping up all over the city.

It’s not about big, sweaty men charging about the place, shouting and trying to look macho, it’s not even about breaking bricks in half with nothing but your little toe; in fact, Ki Aikido is quite the opposite.

With Ki Aikido – a defensive martial art developed from traditional Japanese Aikido – you use the biggest muscle you have: your brain. More specifically your mind, and your ‘Ki’, which literally means ‘life force’. Sending out positive, confident, calm signals, you find the quickest, simplest way to deflect attacks. Which often means leaving your attacker face down and in quite a nasty arm lock, or “giving them a nice stretch” to quote my Sensei.

This means that just about anyone can do it and what’s more, get very good at it. Take Aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba, for example: this frail old man used to hurl virile young disciples all over the dojo before they even realised where they were. So, what’s the relevance today? Why are there still so many practitioners in Bristol and all over the world?

Of course, I can only speak for myself; I’m only small (5ft3 at a push), I’m quite shy and I don’t run around getting into fights. Yet Ki Aikido has helped boost my confidence in daily life, made me a much calmer person and given me an understanding of my physical abilities, as well greatly improving them (not to mention the added bonus of being able to name the moves in a Steven Segal fight scene), all of which is highly beneficial in the modern world.

Bristol is rife with classes for Aikido in its various forms and guises. To discover more about Ki Aikido and to find out where your nearest class is held, just visit the website.

www.kifederationofgreatbritain.co.uk

Katharine Orton
Photo: Magyar Balázs