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By Stuart Gordon, Modesto, CA

One of the advantages of being a WebMaster is that you get to dive right in and be first in a web page endeavor. As an ice-breaker, let me submit the following story about my personal experiences with aikido as a martial art.

No, I've never had to use physical techniques to ward off a street attack. As Sensei John Smartt of New School Aikido suggests, if a blackbelt is attacked it's a sure sign they need more training in the principles of aikido. You left an opening, and someone sought to take advantage of it.

That's not to say that I haven't had to use verbal aikido to resolve confrontations with hostile individuals who obviously meant to do me some harm. Let me tell you about one such encounter:

I was visiting my brother and sister-in-law during fall 1994 in downtown Santa Cruz, California. We had just eaten breakfast and were walking back to my brother's van in an enclosed parking structure. My mother and 10-year-old daughter were also with us. A car narrowly missed hitting my sister-in-law as it sped through the parking structure. The driver of that car pulled into a nearby spot. My sister-in-law isn't the kind of person to let that guy go without giving him an earful. She marched up to his car and told him how close he had come to creaming her. The guy was a complete jerk. His wife and small child were in the car with him. He easily could have resolved the situation by saying something like, "Gee, I really didn't think I was that close or going that fast. I'm terribly sorry if I scared you." He wouldn't have had to admit any wrongdoing. But that would have been too easy. No, this guy proceeded to tell my sister-in-law what a twit she was for being angry.

Of course, by now my brother was also in a shouting match with this guy. The two were standing like umpire and manager at home plate, jawing at each other. The hostility level was rising fast, and after years of playing out similar scenarios on the mat in a dojo, I could sense we were quickly reaching the point of no return in this confrontation. I could see this guy's hands clenching into fists at his side as he shouted at my brother. The blood vessels were popping out of his neck. Bystanders were starting to crowd around waiting for something to happen. I said something hoping to defuse the situation, but I only succeeded in distracting this guy's anger to myself.

You often wonder how you might react in situations like this. Surprisingly, I felt calm but keenly alert and aware of every little nuance of his voice and movement. It really seemed no different than the countless times uke would come at me trying to land a punch to my head or belly. I thought the guy was very close to tossing a sucker punch at me. Although calm, I was totally energized and brimming with ki at this point. If he threw a punch, I was ready. I wouldn't say I was totally without fear. I sensed fear. I knew this was not the dojo. This was real. This was the streets. But this was not at all the kind of fear that leads to paralysis. This was the kind of fear evoked when you're at the beach and someone yells, "shark!"

So I had the presence of mind to make one more attempt to end this peacefully. I told the guy in the clearest and most certain terms I could muster: "If you want to throw the first punch, go ahead." Lo and behold, it was as if the storm clouds parted and the sun broke through. His whole demeanor changed. I had given him an honorable way out of the situation, and he took it without hesitation. He understood the proverbial ball was now in his court. If there was going to be a physical fight, he was going to have to bear the responsibility of initiating it. He wanted no part of that, and my statement made him realize that about himself. He took his wife and daughter and walked away, muttering to himself. It was only days later that I realized that my statement was not the sheer bravado of someone itching to try out a kokyu nage throw. Rather, it was the principles of aikido being applied to blend with, harmonize and resolve a potentially violent situation in a non-violent way.

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