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View all search resultsEmilia Kusuma: Preserving inner power
Ika KrismantariTHE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTAAikido is more than just a hobby or sport for Emilia Kusuma
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I
ka Krismantari
THE JAKARTA POST/JAKARTA
Aikido is more than just a hobby or sport for Emilia Kusuma. The Japanese martial art has become the passion, inspiration and way of life for the 39-year-old.
An aikido enthusiast for 12 years, Emilia turned the hobby into something more serious after discovering the benefits to her body, mind and spirit from practicing the self-defense techniques, which aim to use opponents’ energy to defeat them. One benefit can clearly be seen
in Emilia’s face, as it does not
seem to belong to a woman in her late 30s.
“It is the philosophy restraining egoism that makes me look ageless along with the spirit and strong principles,” says the mother of two, explaining the beneficial impact of aikido on her appearance.
According to Emilia, her body has also experienced changes for the better as she feels healthier than ever.
“My body feels fresher, my blood circulation runs smoothly and I have become more flexible,” she says, adding that the best reward is being more alert and aware of her surroundings.
Aikido has taught her to become more sensitive to looming threats, a skill that is much needed in these times when the rate of violent crimes against women continues to soar.
However, the holder of a third dan black belt — the highest is eight — reveals that she has never had to use her skills outside the training hall, something for which she is extremely grateful.
“Somehow with all the techniques that I have mastered, I am relieved I’ve never had to use them against another person, knowing the damage that can be done,” she says.
Emilia adds that aikido, with all the principles of unifying life energy, has also brought positive elements to her mind and spirit.
“Its philosophy can be applied in our daily lives, making us more patient,” she explains.
Emilia says aikido also taught her to be a better person that can control her ego and helped her to become more humble and more focused in everything she does through the meditation practices included in the teachings.
“Through meditation, we are told to understand ourselves, to harmonize with oneself, with partners or opponents and then with our surroundings and universe,” Emilia says.
Aikido for Emilia is even more than a martial art as it teaches not only self-defense skills and techniques but also a way of life.
For her, aikido is a way to help her build inner power to keep her anger in check and increase her level of awareness.
All those spiritual and physical benefits encouraged the marketing consultant to dedicate her life to aikido. After years of training and experience, Emilia founded her own dojo (training hall) in 2004 and
became a sensei (teacher) in what she then called Sakura Dojo.
Half of her students are women eager to learn about self defense to protect themselves.
“Apart from the technique, aikido also teaches you to be more alert and aware of the surroundings, so you can anticipate threats,” she said.
Being a leading woman in a man’s world, Emilia says she has not encountered any gender discrimination in her career, believing that living in an era when women are considered equal to their male counterparts is an advantage.
“I don’t think there is any [gender discrimination]. We have so many female doctors, bus conductors and woman legislators, we even have female corruption suspects. Why should a female aikido teacher be so strange?” she asks.
Apart from having a third dan black belt, Emilia has also mastered iaido, another Japanese martial art, whose principle is similar to
aikido but is practiced with a sword
(katana).
Emphasizing precision, control and fluid motion, iaido is sometimes referred to as moving zen.
Not many people know about the technique in Indonesia. Emilia says she was lucky to learn iaido directly from an expert almost eight years ago, when the martial art was still restricted to Japanese only.
Emilia is now the holder of a fourth dan black belt in iaido and she has begun iaido classes, which she claims are the first in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia.
Not only of benefit to her body, mind and soul, the two martial arts have given Emilia another bonus in the form of around-the-world trips, during which she has learned more about aikido and iaido.
She has flown as far as New York to meet up with other great sensei from different parts of the globe for training. She has also made frequent trips to Japan to continue brushing up her aikido and iaido techniques.
From a small dojo in an office building in Jakarta to international training grounds in the US and Japan, Emilia has made a big leap in her aikido career.
She started aikido only for fun as she needed a form of exercise to keep her body fit.
After trying yoga, body language and other exercise methods, she got into aikido. It was love at first sight, Emilia says.
“The flexibility and the movement of rolling on the floor, back and forth. So dynamic,” she says, recalling her first impression of aikido before signing up for classes.
Twelve years have passed and Emilia still continues to explore
aikido — not only the technique but also its philosophy.
“I believe when a person is serious about one thing that she or he loves, that person must have the passion, the sincerity and the commitment to stick to it,” she says.
Learning from Emilia’s experiences, we learn that such consistency does not end up wasted, as it offers unexpected benefits and opens up opportunities
JP/Ika KrismantariAikido is more than just a hobby or sport for Emilia Kusuma. The Japanese martial art has become the passion, inspiration and way of life for the 39-year-old.
An aikido enthusiast for 12 years, Emilia turned the hobby into something more serious after discovering the benefits to her body, mind and spirit from practicing the self-defense techniques, which aim to use opponents’ energy to defeat them. One benefit can clearly be seen in Emilia’s face, as it does not seem to belong to a woman in her late 30s.
“It is the philosophy restraining egoism that makes me look ageless along with the spirit and strong principles,” says the mother of two, explaining the beneficial impact of aikido on her appearance.
According to Emilia, her body has also experienced changes for the better as she feels healthier than ever.
“My body feels fresher, my blood circulation runs smoothly and I have become more flexible,” she says, adding that the best reward is being more alert and aware of her surroundings.
Aikido has taught her to become more sensitive to looming threats, a skill that is much needed in these times when the rate of violent crimes against women continues to soar.
However, the holder of a third dan black belt — the highest is eight — reveals that she has never had to use her skills outside the training hall, something for which she is extremely grateful.
“Somehow with all the techniques that I have mastered, I am relieved I’ve never had to use them against another person, knowing the damage that can be done,” she says.
Emilia adds that aikido, with all the principles of unifying life energy, has also brought positive elements to her mind and spirit.
“Its philosophy can be applied in our daily lives, making us more patient,” she explains.
Emilia says aikido also taught her to be a better person that can control her ego and helped her to become more humble and more focused in everything she does through the meditation practices included in the teachings.
“Through meditation, we are told to understand ourselves, to harmonize with oneself, with partners or opponents and then with our surroundings and universe,” Emilia says.
Aikido for Emilia is even more than a martial art as it teaches not only self-defense skills and techniques but also a way of life.
For her, aikido is a way to help her build inner power to keep her anger in check and increase her level of awareness.
All those spiritual and physical benefits encouraged the marketing consultant to dedicate her life to aikido. After years of training and experience, Emilia founded her own dojo (training hall) in 2004 and became a sensei (teacher) in what she then called Sakura Dojo.
Half of her students are women eager to learn about self defense to protect themselves.
“Apart from the technique, aikido also teaches you to be more alert and aware of the surroundings, so you can anticipate threats,” she said.
Being a leading woman in a man’s world, Emilia says she has not encountered any gender discrimination in her career, believing that living in an era when women are considered equal to their male counterparts is an advantage.
“I don’t think there is any [gender discrimination]. We have so many female doctors, bus conductors and woman legislators, we even have female corruption suspects. Why should a female aikido teacher be so strange?” she asks.
Apart from having a third dan black belt, Emilia has also mastered iaido, another Japanese martial art, whose principle is similar to aikido but is practiced with a sword (katana).
Emphasizing precision, control and fluid motion, iaido is sometimes referred to as moving zen.
Not many people know about the technique in Indonesia. Emilia says she was lucky to learn iaido directly from an expert almost eight years ago, when the martial art was still restricted to Japanese only.
Emilia is now the holder of a fourth dan black belt in iaido and she has begun iaido classes, which she claims are the first in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia.
Not only of benefit to her body, mind and soul, the two martial arts have given Emilia another bonus in the form of around-the-world trips, during which she has learned more about aikido and iaido.
She has flown as far as New York to meet up with other great sensei from different parts of the globe for training. She has also made frequent trips to Japan to continue brushing up her aikido and iaido techniques.
From a small dojo in an office building in Jakarta to international training grounds in the US and Japan, Emilia has made a big leap in her aikido career.
She started aikido only for fun as she needed a form of exercise to keep her body fit.
After trying yoga, body language and other exercise methods, she got into aikido. It was love at first sight, Emilia says.
“The flexibility and the movement of rolling on the floor, back and forth. So dynamic,” she says, recalling her first impression of aikido before signing up for classes.
Twelve years have passed and Emilia still continues to explore aikido — not only the technique but also its philosophy.
“I believe when a person is serious about one thing that she or he loves, that person must have the passion, the sincerity and the commitment to stick to it,” she says.
Learning from Emilia’s experiences, we learn that such consistency does not end up wasted, as it offers unexpected benefits and opens up opportunities.
