Since its inception at the beginning of the last academic year, the Saint Maur International School Aikido Club has been able to host its class in the comfort and safety of the brand new facilities of the Cougar Café, Activity & Sports Center. However, it is also thanks to the generosity of the Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) Club that we were able to practice on a surface suitable for the various falls and rolls that are an intrinsic part of Aikido practice, as they kindly lent us their own mats for the entire year.

As the interest for Aikido manifested and the club picked up momentum, I decided to make a request to the Parent Support Group, asking whether they would help us fund the purchase of a dedicated set of mats for the practice of budo. I was delighted to learn last March that the request had been granted and that we would be able to make an order for 72 brand new mats!

Highlights from the Elementary School Aikido Club

The ordering and shipping turned out to be a rather complex operation due to the ongoing COVID restrictions and issues with transport but thankfully, we were able to count on our friends at Zenten Aikido to help us with the paperwork and finally, the long-awaited truck made it to school on a hot morning of June.

Fifteen bags coming straight from the port of Yokohama. Luckily, maintenance kindly lent me a hand to unload and bring all of those down to the basement of the Cougar Café.

During the next few days, we prepped the mats, taking them out of their bags and removing the protective edge, which turned out to be a rather more involved job than we had anticipated!

The puzzle mats make the practice surface very safe as they avoid the formation of gaps during practice, where little toes could otherwise get stuck!

Once the mats were set up, we made sure to clean them thoroughly for maximum safety for our students. Then all we needed to do was to patiently wait for classes to resume!

The secret to clean mats? Regular swipe with a weak bleach solution, followed by thorough rinses and a final alcohol wipe.

It was in early August that the first students of our Saturday morning class were able to set foot on the brand new surface, noticing immediately that the thickness of the mats had doubled compared to before. This upgrade was put to use immediately as they started to review the basics of front and backwards rolls, and moved towards basic techniques.

The EVA mat surface has a texture that mimics that of real tatami mats.

Very soon, the Elementary School Friday Aikido Club will resume as well (click here for the full list of all ES clubs) and I cannot wait to see returnee students as well as complete beginners enjoy themselves and progress throughout the year on this optimal surface.

The Saint Maur Aikido Club would like to thank once again the Parent Support Group for generously funding the purchase of those mats. Also, sincere thanks to Mr Matsumoto and the BJJ Club for allowing our club to exist through lending us their mats.

See you soon at the dojo!