The Art Of Japanese

Students eager to engage in swordplay and practice Japanese fighting skills can find those opportunities on Marshall’s campus.
Every week, members of the kendo, judo and aikido Japanese martial arts clubs learn to attack assailants and maneuver with gliding ability. Flipping an opponent to the floor or making a sword lounge to the neck takes intense physical training as well as mental exertion.
“It’s not about killing somebody,” said Tom Barry, instructor of aikido at the Ashland, Kentucky Area YMCA.
It’s about exercising constraint in excessive force and not using brunt blows against blows, said John Van Kirk, English professor and teacher in Marshall’s Aikido Club.
In Japanese, aikido means a meeting of spirits, said Ikuyo Kawada, professor in the Japanese program.
Aikido is a non-combatant art and each partner takes care of the other. In reality, the goal is a fight where no one gets hurt and if there’s a chance for a fight not to happen, opponents will take that route, Van Kirk said.
While practicing Aikido, each pair moves in a dance while a person called a nage makes a throw and the opponent, called a uke receives it. The uke makes it so their actions blend into the coming blow. Circular movements diffuse energy coming against each opponent, Van Kirk said.
“I like the flow of practice when you get in the zone and it just flows,” he said. “By the time it’s over, I feel like a new man.”
Judo flows less and focuses more on fighting but does include moral teachings and mind exercises like aikido, said Brandon Bailey, president of the Judo Club.
“Maximum efficiency, minimum effort, mutual benefit,” Bailey said.
This idea is clearly seen in judo techniques. In one method of practice, opponents grab onto the lapel of each other’s shirts and try to push the other off-balance. Judokas or judo practitioners don’t use strength to push; they wait for the other person to get in a vulnerable position and then tip them over with little effort, according to the Web site judoinfo.com.
Learning that minimum effort is sufficient in completing great feats can be a gratifying experience for judo learners.
When asked what he’s learned most from practicing the art, Ronald Conn, instructor of judo at the Ohio Martial Arts Center in Portsmouth, said “A sense of calm, a sense of confidence, an inner peace.”
Before joining the Judo Club, Luke Brumfield, sophomore American Chemical Society certified chemistry major from Las Vegas, said he read about martial arts and the philosophies incorporated into Japanese techniques appealed to him.
“The mind philosophy is the most important part,” he said. “Everything’s connected. It all comes from moving your body and your mind.”
Brumfield started practicing judo four weeks ago and said to earn his first white belt he had to show moral character. For people to become black belts, one requirement is they have to be upstanding individuals, he said.
Just like moral standards, certain moves are shared among the Japanese arts. It’s easiest to see those familiarities when just beginning, Brumfield said.
A lot of falling takes place in both aikido and judo, so one of the things beginners learn is to fall without harming the head or neck. This practice is referred to as ukemi, which means to receive with the body.
While holding their heads up, participants land on their sides and extend their arms to spread the energy of the impact. With the arm out, falls make a loud slapping sound.
Kendo practitioners, also called kendokas, do not have to worry about falling. Their training consists of basic moves that involve using bamboo swords called shinai, said Tsuyoshi Inoshita, chief instructor for the Southern Ohio Kendo Association.
Marshall’s Kendo club is a branch school of the Southern Ohio Kendo Association. Members of the club sometimes go to train at the association’s practice grounds, which is at Shawnee State University.
When kendokas get together to practice kendo, it is different from the training of judo and aikido. One difference is kendokas wear more complex outfits that are more traditional to the type worn by feudal warriors of Japan. The clothing consists of a pleated skirt called a hakama and shirt called a keikogi. Because kendo requires the use of a shinai sword, armor is also worn. The armor consists of a mask called a men, leather gloves called kote, and the do and tare, which are pieces that cover the chest and hips, according to the Southern Ohio Kendo Association’s.
With this armor and the shinai being made of bamboo, kendokas are encouraged to strike their opponents with force and make blows that in other circumstances would cause death. The striking targets are the center, right and left-hand sides of the head, the wrists, each side of the torso and the throat, according to the Web site.
While learning Kendo, participants focus on practicing a basic stance, feet movement and swing of the shinai sword, on a repetitive basis. This type of training eventually teaches the kendoka to have an intense focus on each part of the Kendo technique. It instills self-discipline in the participant, according to the Web site.

Emily Ayres can be contacted at ayres@marshall.edu    

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2 comments

Me......

Wed Oct 14 2009 10:52

Which is a Joke.

Dr. Ronald Conn

Wed Sep 23 2009 11:51

The Marshal Judo Club is a branch of the Ohio Martial Arts Center of Portsmouth Ohio

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