A 'beautiful' martial art

Oct. 17—Wooden swords in hand, Tom Reed and Brigid Musselman face each other in a crouched stance.

With choreographed moves, one cuts while the other nullifies, the echo of colliding wood bouncing off the walls of Elkhorn Dojo.

Reed moved to Baker City about 18 months ago, and he's opening a dojo to offer classes on the Japanese martial art of aikido.

Aikido translates to "the way of harmony with energy."

Reed's path to the martial arts can be traced to his athletic childhood and an interest in geography.

"Studying the planet, I wanted to go out and see it," he said. "I had an adventurous spirit."

But it was a barroom brawl in the Caribbean that actually launched Reed's study of martial arts.

"I realized I didn't know anything about fighting," he said.

He joined a kickboxing gym and began practicing taekwondo.

"It piqued my interest, so I stayed with it," Reed said. "As I traveled, I'd go to dojos and train."

He began studying Japanese karate in Alaska.

"It taught me a lot. I'm a nonviolent person, so it was challenging," he said.

Then he discovered aikido, which evolved from jujitsu, and began studying under the master T.K. Chiba, a direct student of the founder.

"Aikido is beautiful," he said. "I couldn't get enough of it. It's not competitive — it's a cooperative practice."

Reed earned his third-degree black belt in 1998, and opened Wild Coast Aikido Dojo in Fort Bragg, California, in 1999. Eventually his teachings evolved into a wooden sword practice — Aikikendo — which comes from aikido's connection to the samurai, who were Japanese warriors.

"We practice basics in every class, but the practice is centered around a short kumitachi (literally 'engaged sword'), which is a choreographed battle with wooden swords that I created," he said.

After students learn how to "relax, center and ground" themselves, he introduces variations to the routine.

"We take it a step further toward real battle by introducing choice points in the choreography where one partner has options, and the other must respond to the option chosen," he said. "As we advance, more options are introduced. This demands our complete and total attention and an empty, present mind. We focus, and let ourselves flow and seek 'the zone.' "

Reed taught a sword practice class last winter.

"We took the summer off and are getting ready to start again," he said.

Brigid Musselman was one of his first students.

"I'd never been in a dojo before," she said. "One of my regrets is I didn't start martial arts younger in my life."

Classes begin Nov. 1 at Elkhorn Dojo, 1923 Court Ave.

The sword practice, Aikikendo, will be offered Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

An introductory class on aikido, called Aki Movement, will meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Classes will meet in six-week blocks. The fee is $120.

He said none of these classes involve competition.

"The point of training in these arts is not to gain the ability to defeat others — it is to immerse oneself in situations of controlled conflict and develop the ability to focus, relax, center and ground yourself in such situations," he said.

Information

To learn more, and for specific class times, visit https://tomreed98.wixsite.com/elkhorn, or contact Reed at 707-497-4670 or tomreed@mcn.org.