ONEGAI SHIMASU!!

So goes this ever-so-familiar refrain just before the start of aikido class every Sunday morning which we utter to our instructors and fellow students.

Then begins the warm-up regime that all of us follow ever so religiously.

A series of stretches, leg raises and those ever-so-painful push-ups that we have to do with wrists bent inwards and outwards never fail to make me wonder the rationale behind them.

With that done, it was down to the serious business of going through and perfecting the various moves of this Japanese martial art, from knowing how to anticipate your opponent's next move to applying the most effective techniques in flooring your charging opponent with the minimum of effort and the maximum of efficiency.

It's really amazing how a simple use of one's own body weight and momentum, coupled with your opponent's, can enable a pint-sized individual to floor someone maybe twice his or her size.

Or just a basic placement of your fingers and arm in the right places can make your opponent squirming in pain and agony.

Grading for the next level is coming up pretty soon.

Hope I get all these moves correct during the test itself.