Kicking Butt For Inner Peace

I know there have been some reposting going on recently. I'll have you an original blog post soon, with soon being defined by me. In the meantime, Lenore forward this to my attention and asked for me to post it:

In the beginning, it was a secret. Inspired by a television program on abused women, I snuck out with my sister to find a martial arts school for myself. I had told my husband at the time that I was interested in finding a martial arts class.

"That's for men," my first husband said, "and you are not very physically active anyway." But I was 20 years old and inspired.

I later became frustrated with many martial arts and self-defense classes that I found. At the point of attack, the victim is taught to instantly transform into a crazed aggressor by kicking, striking and screaming.

This is unrealistic, particularly for a woman who isn't aggressive by nature. So I gravitated toward aikido, a defensive martial art that taught me to work with -- instead of against -- my nature. Aikido works by blending with an attack and redirecting it away.

Learning how to remain calm and centered in the face of an attack helps me just as much in my everyday life as it does in aikido.

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