July 1-15, 1999
By Jim Buckley
Montecito Journal
ANOTHER “PATH” TO FITNESS
Lia Suzuki of Bushikan
Aikido is not a fitness discipline, but if one becomes proficient at it, one cannot avoid becoming fit. The ancient and Oriental practice of Aikido teaches a person to use the strength and energy of an opponent.
Whereas Judo, for example, will teach you first to stop and then to counter an attacker, Aikido practitioners will use an attacker’s momentum. In order to do so, the highest level of fitness is called for.
Off to Japan
When Lia Trinkle left Boston in April 1987 for what was supposed to be one month in Japan, after attending an Aikido seminar, she fully expected to return to her restaurant job at Montana’s, an upscale, yuppie restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue. She was unexpectedly fired. Without a job to return to, she extended her visit to three months, which turned into a year after being offered a job by Berlitz Language Schools and then became nine years when she met Yasuyuki Suzuki. The couple was married on October 9, 1988.
While in Kamakura, Japan, Lia Suzuki went from third kyu, white belt, through fourth dan (yondan) in the Aikido discipline. There are five kyus, or levels in the white belt or beginner level.
“The Shodan, or first level of black belt, is when the Japanese say, ‘Congratulations, you are now a beginner!’ In the U.S., when someone reaches that level they frequently say to themselves ‘All right, I’ve got my black belt, I think I’ll start my own Dojo, or martial arts school,’” laughs Ms. Suzuki.
Let’s put it this way: Lia Suzuki is a qualified instructor.
Back in the U.S.A.
Ms. Suzuki returned to the U.S. in the spring of 1996. Her reasons for leaving? “There are some things I really love about Japan – the hot springs, all the food, and practical things, like it’s safe. I try to go back once a year to train. But as far as where I want to live, I like living in the U.S much more than living in Japan.”
Lia speaks Japanese fluently.
She considered settling in San Francisco but after discovering it was still cold in July and “that I couldn’t just jump in my car and go to the beach,” she chose Santa Barbara. “When I arrived, I said to myself, ‘This is it. I liked the sun and the size of Santa Barbara. It met other criteria that I felt were important for starting a dojo, as well. Things fell together for me here and I began teaching at Jack Sabat’s Hot Springs Road studio.”
Refreshingly honest
When asked whether Aikido has come in handy, she responded: “‘Have you ever had to use this stuff?’ is a question I get asked frequently. My answer is ‘Yes, I use it all the time,’ though I’ve never had to use it physically. One becomes more sensitive to things. Through the toughest times in my life, I was always able to use Aikido.”
When questioned whether her classes are aerobic, she responded: “My classes are definitely aerobic. A lot of people lose some serious weight too. You can always depend upon coming out of the Dojo feeling better than when you came in.”
It is customary in Japan for students to have a beer together once or twice a week after an intense Aikido session. Her Japanese mentors, who are among the highest master of the art in the world, have a traditional answer to the question of “Why do you do Aikido?” “It makes the beer taste better,” they say. Beer is very important to the Japanese. Perhaps that’s all one really needs to know.
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