Spotlight - Jan Bratt

My most Memorable Aikido Experience

How can I pick one…

In 1981, when I was sixteen, I saw a demonstration of Judo, Karate-do and Aikido. The Judo team had just made their demo and I must confess, I was bored by their demonstration. They finished with the classical “David and Goliat”, a very young girl throwing a very big guy. I was not impressed and nobody else was. The karate demonstration on the other hand was…nice… I mean it was ok.

But the AIKIDO group just blew me away! This was precisely my idea of a martial arts, with power, concentration, movements, action and so very beautiful. Just like art, martial art! I signed up right away for my first beginners’ class at the Gothenburg Aikido Club.

I remember going to the dojo after school or work and training, by myself or with a friend before regular class. I have always liked solo training and spend a lot of time practising weapons and tai-jutsu by myself. I find it really relaxing, joyful and a process of discovery.

During the late 80´s I became an instructor and a member of the board at the Gothenburg Aikido Club. The dojo lead by Ulf Evenås sensei became during the 90´s a centre for traditional Aikido in Europe with more than 300 members. Students, especially from the Scandinavian countries and Eastern Europe, came to train at the dojo.

The first time I trained under Morihiro Saito sensei was 1988. On this trip to Europe sensei was doing two seminars, one in Copenhagen and one in Stockholm. These seminars really opened my mind about the way it was possible to perform aikido. Saito sensei’s extraordinary ability to teach and transmit his aikido with precision is well known.

I was in Iwama in 1990 together with my friend Mats Alexandersson. My staying there was an important experience and it means a lot to me and thanks to Pat Hendricks sensei who really was taking a great responsibility to get things running smoothly around the dojo.

My special feeling of training in Iwama is about the atmosphere on the mat. This feeling of total concentration on aikido training was extraordinary. I felt I was privileged, at a specific period in life, to stay at a place where everything was about aikido.

New beginning

After many years of training in one dojo I felt that I needed to move on instead of doing the same thing year after year.

After more than twenty years of training my engagement was mostly about upholding old positions and achievements and nothing new or different could actually enter in my life, as far as aikido was concerned.

It became clear to me that it was all a process of justification where everything was done in a way to confirm what we already knew.

During the summer of 2003 I talked a lot with my dear friend Pia Moberg who also was a main instructor at the Gothenborg aikido club at the time.

The subject was how you can actually bring your aikido alive after many years of training. The only way in our situation was to leave our old dojo that we truly loved and start a different project.

The answer became clear to us and we started the Riai Aikido Dojo as a way to enter in to a new process, a process of discovery instead of justification.

After a few years I can say that it has really become a new start that brings a lot of energy into my own training. This work, with the dojo, has been incredibly interesting and exciting on many different levels in my life. Sharing a leadership with Pia is truly action, I can assure you! The process of starting a new dojo liberates a lot of energy and creativity which brings out a lot of joy but also creates many challenges.

We are now slightly over a hundred members with training 3 days a week and we have a lot of seminars and other activities. In the beginning of November we hosted Pat Hendricks sensei in Sweden and it was a fantastic seminar. Inspiring for both Pia and myself but also for our members.

If I can choose, which I can, between a process of justification or a process about discovery I will definitely prefer the latter. This ”new beginning” has indeed changed my perception about what aikido really is and what it can bring to my own life.

My most memorable aikido experience is probably right here and right now.

	Featured Dojo-cho, March 2007

Jan Bratt, 4th Dan Riai Aikido, Göteborg, Sweden Division 1
My most Memorable Aikido Experience How can I pick one… In 1981, when I was sixteen, I saw a demonstration of Judo, Karate-do and Aikido. The Judo team had just made their demo and I must confess, I was bored by their demonstration. They finished with the classical “David and Goliat”, a very young girl throwing a very big guy. I was not impressed and nobody else was. The karate demonstration on the other hand was…nice… I mean it was ok. But the AIKIDO group just blew me away! This was precisely my idea of a martial arts, with power, concentration, movements, action and so very beautiful. Just like art, martial art! I signed up right away for my first beginners’ class at the Gothenburg Aikido Club. I remember going to the dojo after school or work and training, by myself or with a friend before regular class. I have always liked solo training and spend a lot of time practising weapons and tai-jutsu by myself. I find it really relaxing, joyful and a process of discovery. During the late 80´s I became an instructor and a member of the board at the Gothenburg Aikido Club. The dojo lead by Ulf Evenås sensei became during the 90´s a centre for traditional Aikido in Europe with more than 300 members. Students, especially from the Scandinavian countries and Eastern Europe, came to train at the dojo. The first time I trained under Morihiro Saito sensei was 1988. On this trip to Europe sensei was doing two seminars, one in Copenhagen and one in Stockholm. These seminars really opened my mind about the way it was possible to perform aikido. Saito sensei’s extraordinary ability to teach and transmit his aikido with precision is well known. I was in Iwama in 1990 together with my friend Mats Alexandersson. My staying there was an important experience and it means a lot to me and thanks to Pat Hendricks sensei who really was taking a great responsibility to get things running smoothly around the dojo. My special feeling of training in Iwama is about the atmosphere on the mat. This feeling of total concentration on aikido training was extraordinary. I felt I was privileged, at a specific period in life, to stay at a place where everything was about aikido. New beginning After many years of training in one dojo I felt that I needed to move on instead of doing the same thing year after year. After more than twenty years of training my engagement was mostly about upholding old positions and achievements and nothing new or different could actually enter in my life, as far as aikido was concerned. It became clear to me that it was all a process of justification where everything was done in a way to confirm what we already knew. During the summer of 2003 I talked a lot with my dear friend Pia Moberg who also was a main instructor at the Gothenborg aikido club at the time. The subject was how you can actually bring your aikido alive after many years of training. The only way in our situation was to leave our old dojo that we truly loved and start a different project. The answer became clear to us and we started the Riai Aikido Dojo as a way to enter in to a new process, a process of discovery instead of justification. After a few years I can say that it has really become a new start that brings a lot of energy into my own training. This work, with the dojo, has been incredibly interesting and exciting on many different levels in my life. Sharing a leadership with Pia is truly action, I can assure you! The process of starting a new dojo liberates a lot of energy and creativity which brings out a lot of joy but also creates many challenges. We are now slightly over a hundred members with training 3 days a week and we have a lot of seminars and other activities. In the beginning of November we hosted Pat Hendricks sensei in Sweden and it was a fantastic seminar. Inspiring for both Pia and myself but also for our members. If I can choose, which I can, between a process of justification or a process about discovery I will definitely prefer the latter. This ”new beginning” has indeed changed my perception about what aikido really is and what it can bring to my own life. My most memorable aikido experience is probably right here and right now.