CCAs of NTU 25’: NTU Aikido
Written by: Raphael Tan, Vice-President
Hi there! Let me share a quick bit about this small club of mine, known as NTU Aikido!
Aikido is a Japanese martial art which started in the early 20th century. The founder, Morihei Ueshiba, drew inspiration from his religious endeavours, personal philosophy and knowledge of other martial arts like Aikijiujitsu to found this new style.
Me being thrown as an uke (recipient of a technique)
Aikido (合氣道) can be loosely translated as “The Way of Harmony with Spirit”. Its governing principles emphasise the cultivation of oneself, deeming aggression as unjust to one’s character. This philosophy extends into techniques aiming to neutralise aggression with minimal exertion from the Aikido practitioner.
Notable techniques include joint locks, weapon techniques, receiving techniques, and throws from both a standing and seiza (Japanese sitting position) stance. This makes training almost paradoxical at times - using minimal strength whilst maintaining strength to subdue aggressors, while also accepting aggression to neutralise attacks. At times, our training is physically tiring whilst mind boggling as we get rolled around the mats and joint locked in places we never knew were possible to bend in certain ways 🤣 just to understand the mechanics behind the techniques.
Since Aikido is a paired martial art, we usually practise techniques with a senior or junior. This not only makes training beginner-friendly (you’ll have someone to guide you every step of the way!), but also helps build a strong sense of camaraderie within the club. It’s also a close-contact sport as we often need to get close to our partner in order to execute the technique effectively.
From left: 1. Last year’s tryouts 2. Our president’s mind-boggled face during her most recent grading
This art has no competition, meaning the development of your practice of Aikido is up to you to elevate it! However, that does not mean that there is no challenge - the true challenge is with and within yourself as we have four gradings every year.
We train with our lovely senseis (instructors) every Monday and Wednesday evening right here in NTU! Some of us also choose to head down to our main dojo, Mumei Shudan (located at Selegie Road), to train for more advanced techniques on Fridays.
After paying our $90 registration fee, you get access to all our NTU Aikido sessions and the main dojo trainings throughout the year. Although NTU trainings take a break during the semester holidays, our main dojo continues to hold sessions every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday all year round so there’s always a chance to roll on the mats, whether it’s the break period or if you’re staying far from campus!
While we don’t enforce a minimum attendance requirement, we highly encourage our members to join both NTU and external sessions whenever they can. Consistency is key to improving in Aikido 💪
On the topic of events, we also hold an annual international seminar in NTU with esteemed Japanese guest senseis which allows us to exchange different techniques, perspectives, and form lasting friendships to feel and improve our interpretation and execution of Aikido.
From left: 1. Grading 2. Yamashima Shihan Seminar ‘24
Beyond the mats, being in a small club means we do a lotta things for R&R too! Beyond the encounters in school, we always celebrate our members’ birthdays, go out to the beach for a chill day, have our favourite Italian food after training 😘🤌and more!
From left: 1. Grading 2. Yamashima Shihan Seminar ‘24
This club is a mishmash of the most chaotic people all coming together to destress from school in the best way that we know how - being thrown around, throwing people around, and having a great laugh with all the other members after training. So why not join the most chaotic bunch of weebs/nerds/aikidokas? Come find us at our Welcome Week Booth!
Training details (tentative):
Monday 8:20pm - 10:20pm at the Wave AR2
Wednesday 6:10pm - 8:10pm at the Wave AR2
