Brian Ericksen, owner of Heaven and Earth Aikido studio, is helping to center the mind of soldiers and people suffering post-traumatic stress disorder through a form of martial arts. Photo by Reena Singh.
As a soldier fighting in Iraq, Brian Ericksen thought the idea of martial arts in a war zone was ridiculous.
Then, one day, it clicked for him.
The owner of Heaven and Earth Aikido used the calming form of martial arts while in the service to center himself in some of the most dangerous places in the world and now wants to help former veterans and sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder to do the same.
“It’s ultimately about making harmony with others around you and with yourself,” he said. “It’s something that the longer I did it, the more it gave back to me.”
Heaven and Earth Aikido is located at 688 Spring Street.
He teaches about 20 students right now in his year old studio, and is working towards making the business a nonprofit.
Long before that, between 1993 and 1996, he trained in New York City in an intense study with Yoshimitsu Yamada to learn master the art.
While in the Army fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, he lead sessions with his fellow soldiers to help them center themselves after battling days on end. He also started his own solo practice that refines Aikido down to breathing exercises and meditation.
“At that time, we were at war for 10 years,” he said. “The things these soldiers have gone through, they had seen close friends die or commit suicide from the stress,” he said. “I found that it really made a big difference with myself. Through the practice, I found a way to center myself.”
Steve Vickers, Herndon, is one of Ericksen’s students that shares a similar story with the Sensei.
“Knowing what I had to deal with while on deployment and even now to this day, having an outlet like Aikido allows me to keep and maintain a positive perspective on everything around me,” he said.
Vickers said Aikido is more than a style of martial arts for him.
“It's a sense of belonging and a place of peace not war,” he said. “Heaven and Earth Aikido not only provides classes on these techniques but also allows me an avenue to reach out to the community and help others.”
Tony Brenda, Reston, has not fought in a war zone. However, he said civilians who live in their own daily stressors can see benefits as well.
“Sometimes in life the very best things come from the most unusual places,” said Brenda. “Aikido is essentially a distillation of the horrific practice of combat, warfare, and killing; stripped of its constituent violence and turned on its head. Most aikido, will tell you they are striving to learn how to live peaceably.”
He said practicing Aikido at the studio has been transformational for him.
“It is repetition, non-resistance, self-discipline, and an endless seeking for truth,” he said. “It may be that those things in combination produce the calm that one needs to get out-of-the-way as we say, of the attack. All I can say is that the study of Aikido has many benefits, not the least of which is an increasing ability to handle challenges.”
To help support Heaven and Earth’s Veteran’s Assistance Program, visit http://www.gofundme.com/cjmnis.
More information about classes can be found at http://www.heavenandearthaikido.com.