The Connection

It looked like a scene out of an old samurai movie. The two opponents meet beside the creek. It's a clearing in a beautiful green forest. The two bow to the other out of respect, then draw their swords. Except here the swords are wooden, the combat is a carefully practiced routine, and it's not Iwama: it's south Arlington County.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art that focuses on self-defense while avoiding injury to either attacker or target. Much of Aikido focuses on using your opponent's momentum against them. Most of the lessons are hand-to-hand, but it also includes training in how to use and counter weapons.

Yvonne Thelwell is the main instructor of Aikido of Arlington. She’s been practicing Aikido for 30 years after it was first offered in a gym where she worked. Thelwell is a structural engineer and designs bridges. She was drawn to the similarities between the two.

“The movements are very efficient,” said Thelwell. “It’s about finding a balance.”

Thelwell demonstrated that with a stance, showing how firm and unyielding the body can be when properly positioned. But Thelwell says this sense of balance extends outside of just physical combat.

“We’re seeing more conflict and dealing with it in our everyday lives,” said Thelwell. “Aikido helps us try and see things from the other point of view.”

For Thelwell, this has helped in dealing with contractors and learning to diffuse conflicts before they really get started.

There were four students with Thelwell in the park, practicing routines together with their wooden swords.

“I started when I was young,” said Teresa Liao. “I was around eight. Before Aikido there was a Taekwondo demonstration. But the way Aikido sent people flying … that’s what I wanted to do.”

Liao said after training as a child, she stayed away from it for years before finding it again in 2006. For Liao, the main appeal of Aikido as an adult is being able to defend oneself without causing harm.

Many of the students had studied Aikido in their youth and rediscovered it as adults. Sarah Gunther took Aikido as part of a class in college, but picked it up again in 2015 after years of being away.

“It makes me think about centering the self-balance in my life,” said Gunther. “Aikido is training, but also balance: life, work, and home.”

Gunther says after an intense training session, she’s exhausted, but that it also comes with a sense of calm and focus.

“I’m exhausted, but I feel a sense of calm and I find that I can focus more,” agreed Vladimir Yankov. Like Liao and Gunther, Yankov had trained in Aikido in his youth. Yankov had never found a connection with the hyper-aggression in other sports, but with its focus on self-control, Aikido felt different.

“There’s no aggression in Aikido,” said Yankov. “Everybody is nice and polite. It’s a defensive art.”

For Yankov, practicing Aikido has also helped relieve the tension of an office job.

“I sit in front of a computer most of the day, but there’s none of the back pain I used to have from that,” said Yankov. “It’s like dynamic yoga.”

Aikido of Arlington meets in Glencarlyn Park on the second Sunday of each month for weapons training. Classes meet Monday through Thursday evenings and on Saturday mornings in the Clarendon Presbyterian Church. Dues for beginners are $55 per month, or $50 with a student ID. For advanced members, dues are $65 per month or $55 with a student ID.