Physical path to peace

Aikido expert views martial art as route to inner harmony

STACEY M. EWERT
Staff Writer

"Aikido makes you more aware of who you are and what the purpose of being here is: pursuing peace," says Brooks, 36, who opened Aikido of Scottsdale last May.

This nice Jewish boy from Chicago began aikido training at age 18. Brooks had taken judo two years prior to that, but he was "not interested in traditional punching, kicking and breaking boards," he says.

Aikido is different from other martial arts because it uses the momentum of the uke, Japanese for the attacker, to throw him off balance so the nage, the one who receives the attack, can take control. "Aikido is not designed to cause permanent damage. The techniques move and bend joints the way they are designed to move," Brooks explains. "The other person is considered a partner rather than an opponent."

Exhibitions are held occasionally to introduce people to aikido, Brooks says, but there are no formal competitions because it is not considered a sport.

"There is no winner and no loser. You are overcoming yourself rather than other people," he explains.

The word aikido consists of three Japanese characters which translate as "the way of harmony with universal energy."

Brooks, who attends Beth El Congregation, says he sees no inconsistency between Judaism and the philosophy of aikido. "Aikido teaches a person to live in harmony with other people and avoid conflict," he says.

He has never used his skills for his own self-defense, although he once broke up a fight between two other people using aikido techniques. "It is more for self-improvement than self-defense," he says.

Brooks, a third-degree black belt, trained mainly in Chicago under Shihan Akira Tohei, an eighth-degree black belt and one of the last living direct disciples of the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. When Brooks, a bachelor, was offered a job in Scottsdale as a physical therapist, his other profession, he decided to take the opportunity to fulfill one of his goals of spreading aikido by opening his own dojo, or martial-arts school.

Aikido of Scottsdale is the first dojo in Arizona affiliated with the United States Aikido Federation. Current students range in age from 16 to 60, Brooks says, and he is developing a program for children.

"It is good for developing discipline and self-confidence and for learning to confront conflict in subtle ways," Brooks says. Children and adults alike can benefit from learning ways to deal non-violently with aggression.

Belt levels, designated by colors and then degrees once the black belt is achieved, are earned by practicing a designated number of hours and then performing techniques and participating in simulated attacks during testing for the teacher. Advancement depends not only on physical performance, but also on attitude, maturity and personal development. Only Brooks' teacher, Tohei, can give rank to students in the Midwest Federation, to which Brooks' school belongs.

The highest possible rank is that of 10th-degree black belt, which only one living person holds. There are two ninth-degree black belts living and a handful of eighth-degree aikidoists, including Tohei.

Brooks explains aikido is an ongoing process, and therefore his goal is not to achieve a certain belt degree. He wants to continue his own training, expand his teaching and use his knowledge of physical therapy and aikido to help people feel better emotionally, spiritually and physically.

"Aikido has enriched my life greatly in that it has given me self-confidence, self-esteem and made me more aware of my surroundings," Brooks says.

Aikido of Scottsdale, 4445 N. Buckboard Trail, is open from 8 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sundays. There are no contracts, so students can attend as many sessions as they would like for a fee of $50 per month.

For more information, call the dojo at 970-4106.