Nobody was Kung Fu fighting

The name conjures up images of feisty Kung-Fu fighters kicking, jabbing and throwing each other to the ground.

Seidokan Aikido sounds like a martial art, looks like a martial art but in practice Seidokan Aikido is nothing like a martial art. Cal State Long Beach's Aikido Club members say they practice Seidokan Aikido for other esoteric reasons.

The terms harmonize and Aikido are synonymous to practitioners of Seidokan Aikido. Aikido, translated, is the way of harmonizing energy.

It is a diplomatic form of self defense, allowing the victim to defend herself without actually fighting. The victim harmonizes with the aggressor and re-directs the attacker's force to a hold or throw so that the victim is in control. Learning Aikido is not only a physical process, it is also mental training that can be applied to everyday life. "Aikido is a way of approaching more than just combat, it's a way of approaching any interaction between two people," 73-year-old Shirley Blumberg said.

Age did not interfere with Blumberg's choice to take off her shoes, put on her gi and practice her holds and throws with college students wearing black belts. The Aikido dogma encourages mingling of the ranks and skill levels.

Daniel Collins, an instructor of the class and former CSULB student said, "Aikido's philosophy is to harmonize with each other, not to segregate everybody by rank. Aikido is about sharing, teaching, playing and freeing yourself to see what you can do."

Chris Williams, a biochemistry graduate student at CSULB and a black belt, does not intimidate Blumberg. She practices her moves with him, while he practices his teaching technique with her.

"Aikido is taught with gentleness, with a much more effective and more powerful technique than force," Williams, who has been with the club for three years, said.

Similar to most martial arts, Aikido has four different colored belts which define skill and rank. Black is at the apex of this quartet of colors.

Members of the club are not discouraged from striving for the belts but more emphasis is placed on learning and just having fun. Since prerequisites such as strength, agility and youth do not apply to learning the art of Aikido, everyone qualifies. Though Aikido sounds easy and looks easy, practice is necessary to learn the technique.

Members roll out the welcome mat to newcomers, because they like to see new faces and work on their teaching skills.

The club offers four classes weekly on campus: Tuesday, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.; Wednesday 5:30 to 7 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. and Thursday, 5:30 to 7 p.m. in PE, 64.