FAQ

MPEC-164A Self Defense SECTION 4150
15 WEEK CLASS FROM 09-01-09 TO 12-15-09
Tuesdays 6:30pm to 7:25pm and Thursdays 6:30pm to 7:35pm

MPEC-164A Self Defense SECTION 4152
15 WEEK CLASS FROM 09-05-09 TO 12-19-09
Saturdays 11:10am to 1:15pm

MGYM 101 EAST, It is the wrestling room in the men’s gym behind the basketball courts.

Your Grade is based on your participation in class. You will earn one point for every ten minutes that you participate in class.

80% to 89% = B, 70% to 79% = C, 60% to 69% = D and 59% and less = F

NO. The Registration Fee is all that is required. There are no books or uniforms to buy and no term papers to write!

YES. ACTIVITY DRESS CODE: You must be dressed out in appropriate P.E. clothes to participate. Sweatpants and a t-shirt are recommended. Denims, shorts and tank tops are not appropriate. Watches, bracelets, necklaces, loop earrings and rings with sharp edges MUST BE REMOVED before class so you do not injure yourself or other people. Please take your hats and shoes off at the door. You must wear socks on the mat!!!

7. There are two SECTIONS offered. Is there a difference between the two SECTIONS?

NO. MPEC-164A, SECTION 8232 and MPEC-164A, SECTION 8437 all cover the same curriculum and are all 30 hour, 1 UNIT classes.

Class is offered four hours per week, about two hours per section per week You are required to attend two hours of class each week. If you are enrolled in one section, it does not matter which two hours you attend. You may attend two to four hours of class per week!

By the end of this semester, you will have been introduced to five or six simple, practical, useful, (physical), self-defense techniques, as well as many very important concepts. For example: One of the most important aspects of self-defense is "AWARENESS", knowing WHERE YOU ARE and WHO IS AROUND YOU. IT IS AMAZING HOW FEW PEOPLE EVER GIVE THAT A THOUGHT!

"During the Final Exam, students will be able to demonstrate five of six self defense techniques they have learned in class by successfully defending themselves from a variety of attacks by one or more students acting as assailants".

9. Is it possible to take this class multiple times in order to satisfy graduation requirements?

YES. This class may be taken up to four times for up to four units of Physical Education credit. If you want to continue to take the class after you have earned four units of credit, (as many students do), you may continue to take the class as an audit class as many times as you like.

If you are pregnant, have a heart condition or serious problems with bone or joint degeneration or issues with your back, hips or knees, then you may want to consult a physician before taking this class. This is an Activity Class, a Physical Education Class!

Enroll in the class and come to the first class meeting. You will meet a lot of great people and have a lot of fun! Many students enjoy these classes so much that they have taken the class six or more times. If it is not for you, (and it is not for everybody), you will know by the end of the first class and you can drop the class and find something that is for you.

Aikido Questions:

1. What is Aikido?

Aikido is a Japanese Martial Art. You might say it is a throwing Art as opposed to a punching, blocking, kicking Art. For our purposes at MJC, it is a Fun Recreational Physical Education Class that if taken seriously, may help prevent a student from being hurt by an assailent some day in the future. At worst, you will have fun. For many Aikido students it is a very big part of their life. Not just throwing people around at school or at the dojo, but using the principles of Aikido in everyday life. Aikido is not just a Martial Art, it is a philosophy of life.

Aikido is often referred to as The Art of Peace.

Ai means joining together or harmony.

Ki means sprit or universal life force, (Nature).

Do means the path or way to follow.

Aikido means, ‘The way of joining the sprit with the universal life force.’ or ‘The Way to Live in Harmony with Nature.’

Many people seem to go through life fighting every person, obstacle or situation that confront them in every day life. Not everything in life is a fight. Not all confrontations or situations can be resolved by fighting. There is almost always a better way to deal with issues than fighting! If you seek out really good Martial Artists, they will tell you that we don’t train to fight other people. We train to not fight other people! We train to fight, (for lack of a better word), ourselves. We train to improve ourselves, to purify ourselves. As The Founder of Aikido put it, “True Victory is Victory Over The Self.”

2. How is Aikido Different from other martial Arts taught at MJC?

Aikido does not teach blocks, strikes, (punches), kicks, grabs, joint locks, pens, or pressure points at this level. I teach grabs and strikes only to the level at which a student may be able to simulate an attack upon another student. The point of Aikido is to evade an attack, take the attacker’s balance and help him find a safer place to be, (The Ground). We do not retaliate by kicking or hitting an attacker. Hence, the term “Self-defense.” I do not need to become the attacker to defend myself against the attacker. Violence begets violence.

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Mahatma Gandhi, (1869-1948).

3. Is this the same style taught at Aikido dojo’s in Modesto?

I teach the same Art, not necessarily the same “Style”. If you visit the other Aikido dojo’s in Modesto, or elsewhere, it will be obvious that they teach the same Art. If you have studied Aikido, you will see that they teach different styles. My teaching style is similar in some ways and different in others. I have only 30 hours to teach my students. They have many months or even years to teach theirs. Therefore, I have to make concessions and compromises that they do not have to make.

4. Will I receive a belt ranking after going through this class?

NO. 30 hours of instruction in a variety of techniques is not sufficient time to develop the skill necessary to be awarded rank. After taking this class several times, you may wish to join one of the local Aikido dojos, (as many students have done in the past), and apply to test for rank during their next testing period.

I have dabbled in many Martial Arts, before Aikido, the most significant arts were Japanese Goju-ryu and Okinawan Goju-ryu, Shorei-Kan Karate. I have earned a 2^ndDegree Black Belt, (Nidan), in Aikido. I taught Aikido for two and a half years at Aikido of Modesto before I began teaching Self Defense with an Emphasis on Aikido at Modesto Junior College in September of 2001.

In 1969, I heard about “The Art of Peace”, Aikido. I tried to find Aikido for years but nobody taught it where I lived. I met a former "Green Beria" who taught Okinawan Goju-ryu, Shorei-Kan Karate. I didn’t want to learn how to punch, kick and hurt people but I wanted to improve myself. When he told me, “If you have a Black Belt in any Martial Art, you will be able to defend yourself without doing permenent damage to your attacker”. I knew, although this is not the Art I want to learn, this is the Teacher I want to learn from! When I moved to Modesto, I had to quit Shorei-Kan Karate, no one taught that here! I tried other Martial Arts but the philosophy was always the same, hurt the attacker who is trying to hurt you. In other words, “Become Him!” I do not want to do that. I continued to look and finally discovered Aikido, right here in Beautiful Downtown Modesto. AIKIDO, a Philosophy I can live with.