Oakland University offers a variety of unique club sports for students to try, including the Aikido Club. This unique form of martial arts brings its own style.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art used mainly for defense. Since aikido focuses on gravity and energy and not the use of muscle, it allows even the tiniest defender to take down an opponent.

“Practicing aikido isn’t hard on the body,” senior Betsy Hagan said. “It is truly something anyone can do.”

Hagan has been practicing aikido for 13 years. She uses her skills to better herself and the other students. Martial arts can be broken down into two main categories — hard and soft.

Hard arts like karate are used more for damage and attack purposes. Aikido, on the other hand, falls into the soft category, being used as defense.

“Aikido can be seen as a way to counter jujitsu,” Hagan said. “The point is to take the energy and reuse it towards your opponent.”

In the beginning

The club was founded at Oakland in 1997 by Sensei Deric Wilkins, who still teaches and runs the club today. Wilkins, who has practiced aikido since he was 10, offers his knowledgeable background to his students.

The club has eight students, with four to five showing up on any given night.

“About half of our students attend Oakland currently,” Hagan said. “We like to welcome anyone who comes through our door.”

Many students remain with the club even after graduating from the university.

“I love that we’re able to retain people after they leave Oakland,” Hagan said. “It keeps the group strong and connected.”

The basics

Many students use aikido as a way to relax and cool down from the day. Beginners start off learning patterns, mid-level students learn mechanics and high-level students learn flow.

Aikido is known as a social art, allowing the students to switch roles and converse while practicing.

“We like to use this atmosphere as a way to relax and focus,” Wilkins said.

Body and mind

Aikido is much more than a workout. The techniques that are learned can be applied to everyday life. Most find things to be much simpler when their body is working at its full movement potential. Aikido also offers other benefits such as stress relief and improved balance and coordination.

“When we bow in, we bring ourselves into a certain mindset,” Wilkins said. “Once we’re finished, we bow out and go back into the ‘real world’”.

Aikido offers its own mental benefits as well.

“I find myself to be successful in my ability to be receptive,” Hagan said. “My situational awareness has definitely developed through my years of training.”

By combining mindset together with the technical aspects, a student can get the full experience of aikido.

“This art forces you to get a good grasp on how you move and feel,” Hagan said. “It allows you to make distinctions between strength and force versus timing and gravity.”

Real world experience

Besides having its mental and physical advantages, aikido offers many things to take into the real world, including how to interact with others. Nick McIntyre, an OU graduate, still actively participates in the club.

“I feel like practicing aikido gives me a good understanding of conflict,” McIntyre said. “I take what I learn here and apply it to life lessons I go through.”

The club plans to put on a self-defense class for women in the dorms in the fall. The class will teach women basic aikido skills they can use.

To learn more

Interested in the aikido club? Whether you’d like to join or just learn more about the martial art, contact  Sensei Deric Wilkins at [email protected] or go to the Rec Center for more information.