Martial Arts Magazine Australia

by Attila Halasz

It was 1995 when I, a young lad from Australia, stepped into the bustling city of Vienna, Austria. Eager to explore the local martial arts scene, I checked the phone book and confirmed my attendance at a Vienna-style (Aikikai) Aikido dojo, even though it wasn’t my usual Australian Shin Sen Dojo style.

Walking into a foreign dojo is always a thrill!

After changing into my gi, I noticed three fellow black belts – two female, a male Aikidoka, and an intriguing figure, another odd-looking black belt. Clad in black pants and a jacket adorned with a red Ninjutsu symbol, he stood out without a hakama.

The fourth-degree black belt teacher, around fifty and visibly tired from a day’s work, led the class through basic drills. The class, consisting of 13 practitioners, felt ordinary and uninspiring, until an unexpected turn of events unfolded.

The ninja, seemingly polite up to this point, stood up and announced,
that as part of his black belt experience, he came to challenge the Sensei on the mat. The challenge was set: the one who gets pinned loses.

Excitement filled the air! I sat cross-legged, anticipating the upcoming challenges. “Oh, this is great,” I said.

The first fight was taken by a female Aikidoist. The ninja attacked with a mild forward strike, which she countered with a large turn, deeply entering around the strike. Half way through her technique, the ninja suddenly changed position as if he expected the irimi nage, struck towards her face and took her down with a sudden hip throw. Locked her with his knees until she tapped out.His stealth was incredibly clever!

Next up was the male black belt, but by now, the polite ninja facade all but disappeared. After a front kick and middle body punch, he took down the Aikidoist with a leg sweep and struck his head. He too tapped out. The ninja was fast and determined to get to the Sensei.
The last female black belt was already startled before the fight.The ninja spent an easy few seconds to take her down. There was a surprised silence. The ninja looked at me, not sure about my status. According to the dojo specific challenge, the Sensei had to be next.

He sat under the photo of O Sensei, calm and motionless. One could tell that his mind was elsewhere, maybe other worries, not particularly about fighting a ninja on a Wednesday night. I looked at him with a question mark. Our eyes locked. I read his intention and knew what to do. He just made me a student of this dojo. I bowed to the ninja and walked out onto the mat. The entire class looked on, some of them smiling. It was their turn to be excited by the visiting Australian.

I faced the approaching ninja calmly. He thought I would be defensive, like the others before me. However, I suddenly attacked him with a front kick and a temple strike right after. This momentum made him step back. When he lifted his arm to block my head strike, there was the perfect opportunity for me for the ikkyo ura, inside stepping joint lock, done fast with weight kept underside. This time the ninja was brought down on the floor and I put on a classic arm pin until he tapped out. My home dojo was budo focused, using ki power. Always considering the moment of life and death. The challenge and the class were over. As a lovely gesture, the group, including the Sensei, were clapping.

The ninja bowed, then made a farewell speech that although he won three fights, in the end he was defeated and he has learnt that Aikido is a force to be reckoned with and this, he will take back to his dojo and his own sensei.

Afterwards we all went out for drinks and I can tell you, Vienna is expensive, but somehow I ended up not paying for any of my drinks. What a great night it was!

The next day, I packed up my gear and went on by train, this time to face an even greater challenge in a French Aikido camp. But that’s another story.