Aikido in Dubai: teaching discipline and respect

There is no shortage of children’s activities in the UAE, but none perhaps are as holistic as the Japanese martial art aikido. We sit in on a class at Dubai Karate Centre to find out more.

Teacher John Sugumar Ratnam with beginners at an Aikido class in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National

“This is aikido: martial arts spirituality,” begins a young boy, seated in the traditional Japanese seiza style.

“This is leadership school. We are disciplined; we are powerful; we are respectful. We do aikido everywhere – at the dojo [a space where martial arts are practised], at home, at school, in the community. We are all leaders.”

This is the mantra Sugumar John Ratnam, the Sri Lankan founder and sensei – head instructor – of Zanshinkan dojo in Dubai, teaches his young students.

While most martial arts fall under bujutsu – the purely martial variety – aikido is a budo; a form that focuses not on domination, competition and victory, but on self-development. The ultimate form of aikido is to diffuse a tense situation without fighting at all.

It teaches practitioners to respond to attackers by connecting with their energy, redirecting it and throwing or pinning them safely by manipulating their joints.

Six-year-old student Josephine says she loves doing “the ninja”. Ratnam explains that this is one of many exercises he has nicknamed after animals and cartoon characters, as part of the children’s warm-ups.

“We have a lot of animals,” he says with a smile. One after another, the children enthuse, listing all manner of creatures: the monkey, the frog, the bunny, even the slug.

Eventually, one shouts “the seal”, and they all start crawling on their bellies. “The seal is newly introduced,” says Ratnam, with a laugh.

Everyone’s favourite technique, meanwhile, is the kotegaeshi, a move that can be used to throw or pin an attacker very quickly, using their wrist.

Ratnam says the first thing he teaches the kids is how to sit, with their hands on their knees and their backs straight.

“The main thing for us is to be focused on their awareness and self-defence. They don’t know what to do in every situation, so we teach them how to be harmonised and stable, so they understand whether an environment is good or bad.”

This year Ratnam received his fifth dan grade, a grade transcending mastery of the techniques and how to teach them. It is a rare honour and a sign of a lifelong commitment to the art. The 61-year-old has practised for more than half his life, training with many of the greats – even studying at the original Aikikai Foundation, Aikido World Headquarters in Japan for a while.

Ratnam set up Zanshinkan in 1995 as the Dubai Aikido Club. It was the country’s first aikido school, and is today accredited by the Aikido Association International.

Reflecting on his experience, he says: “I’ve been teaching for the last 35 years, but instructing kids is very different.”

One of the younger children chimes in: “I come to aikido to defend myself and to be disciplined and respectful.”

Ratnam’s eyes light up with joy. “Discipline and respect,” he says with a smile. “What more can we ask of a kid?

“These days it’s all iPads and iPhones. Who here has an iPhone?”

Most of the children stick their hands in the air with great gusto. “See,” he says and flashes a wise smile, “everybody has a very expensive phone. There’s no reality being on the phone all the time.”

One of the kids adds: “At night I play games on my daddy’s phone.”

“Ah, so you never practise aikido?” asks the sensei.

After the beginners’ class ends, the older kids take to the dojo. One of the oldest is 16-year-old Melissa, who sometimes leads the warm-ups. She studied taekwondo and karate previously, but found aikido to be more focused on self-defence.

It also involves more development of ki – energy – and breathing, she says.

“You learn how to be calm with yourself and you have to be patient. The movements have to flow into one another and they have to connect.”

Twelve-year-old Vladamir from Russia started aikido when he was 5.

“Aikido teaches us to control our anger,” he says. “I need aikido every day. Before I started aikido, sometimes I used to be very aggressive. But now I’ve learnt to control my anger.”

As a 15-year-old girl Fina says it is especially important for women to train in self-defence because they are “more vulnerable to any dangers in the world”.

She and her sisters took up aikido for this reason. “You learn quicker when you’re younger,” she says.

However, it is not all physicality, adds 17-year-old Nurina. “It’s different from other martial arts, because most of them are all punching and physical work. You have to be physically fit to do it, but aikido is more about using energy, between your opponent and you, to manipulate attacks.”

Rafa, a 10-year-old Emirati girl, says she practices aikido to “defend myself and have fun”.

Fellow student 14-year-old Matthew has been practising aikido for a few years. He says the kids at school grab each other by the hand while play-fighting.

“They can’t grab me anymore. I don’t even do techniques, they just can’t get a grip on me.”

Thirteen-year-old Kabir says his sister started aikido before him and he wanted to try it out. “I like doing different techniques, but you have to have a lot of discipline when you’re doing them.”

Sherin, meanwhile, likes to practise with wooden weapons. The 14-year-old makes the class laugh as she explains the types of techniques she likes:

“I like techniques that, for example the kotegaeshi, make people feel pain.” Clarifying, she explains: “The ones where you make them feel pain, that you can easily do.”

Osama, 11, also enjoys weapons training. But he also enjoys the “relaxing” side of aikido.

Ten-year-old Molly previously studied aikido in Turkey.

“They didn’t speak a word of English – it was all just in Turkish, so it was very difficult.”

She likes the way aikido teaches people to push and throw attackers, while protecting them.

“Here at the dojo, we teach them discipline,” says Ratnam. “They come here and sit down for an hour or two and they work hard, because they’re all samurais.

“Samurais normally never go and fight unnecessarily – only when its necessary. Usually we can avoid confrontations.”

He says that in addition to helping to stay physically fit, the art is also good for the mind.

“Hopefully, they will end up in leadership positions and will be good human beings to the world: to their parents, their families, other children at school. That’s the only thing I wish for.”