Aikido students practice the art of self-defence at U Aung Ko Latt’s studio in Yangon.

IT is a cool, clear morning in early winter and a fight has broken out in white-walled room in a house on U Wisara Road in Yangon.

The situation is not looking good for 20-year-old Ma Yadana Moe Oo, the only woman in the room, because she is surrounded by five men.

But when one of the men rushes forward to attack, the woman grabs his hand and effortlessly throws his 90-kilogram (200-pound) body to the floor.

As quickly as it began, the “fight” ends as the man stands up and the two adversaries bow to each other to the applause of the others in the room, which is actually a training studio for the Japanese art of self-defence known as aikido.

The man who runs the training studio, film director U Aung Ko Latt, says women who master aikido can easily defend themselves against three male assailants at the same time.

“In aikido, the heavier the opponent is, the easier it is to defeat him because the technique combines the force of the defender with that of the attacker,” he says.

Unlike the martial arts of judo and taekwondo, aikido focuses on self-defence and includes no offensive moves, a philosophy that is ingrained in the Japanese word “aikido” itself, which translates as “the way of harmonious spirit”.

“Aikido encourages the development of spiritual energy, so those who learn the techniques tend to think positively and have more self-confidence,” says U Aung Ko Latt, who started offering aikido lessons about eight years ago after he learnt the defensive art while living in Japan.

He says it takes about one and a half years to become skilful in aikido, which he says is a good form of exercise for anyone between three and 60 years of age.
“The classes are very popular among women who are planning to go abroad for school or work, and also among actresses and models who want to stay fit and lose weight,” he says.

Actress Ma Yadana Moe Oo, who has been taking aikido classes since 2004, says the training is good for learning self-defence, boosting fitness and improving her poise as an actress.

“On the surface aikido seems very cruel but actually it is very artistic and it controls aggression without inflicting injury,” she says. “When we practice aikido, sometimes we are smacked but we do not feel any pain if we follow the directions of the coach.”

U Aung Ko Ko, a coach who has been offering aikido training classes in Yangon for 20 years, says his main clients are seamen who are planning to go abroad.

“It takes about a year and a half to become skilful but I can teach 50 forms of defence in three months for those who are in urgent need of a crash course before they go abroad,” he says.

“Although aikido is gradually getting more popular, we need to promote it because most people in Myanmar are not aware of its benefits,” he adds.