La Réunion is currently hosting an international Aikido expert, Guillaume Erard. Welcomed by the Saint-Pierre Aikido School, he has clearly fallen under the spell of the landscapes in the south of the island.
On Grande Anse beach, the sound of wooden swords echoes. Aikido is a Japanese martial art inspired by samurai combat techniques. A professor of molecular biology and a 6th dan in Aikido, Frenchman Guillaume Erard decided to live fully from his passion by settling permanently in Japan.
Rigor, Discipline, and Respect
The country is deeply attached to tradition. “Obviously, we’re going to make mistakes, but the Japanese are very, very open and forgiving,” says Guillaume Erard. “It’s not difficult to be accepted in Japan; what’s difficult is fulfilling your responsibilities once you are accepted,” he continues.
Rigor, discipline, and respect are values conveyed by Aikido. To master all its aspects and continue progressing, there’s nothing better than immersing oneself in the country where this martial art was born.
“We Aikido practitioners don’t always have the opportunity to go to Japan,” explains Gérard Tayllamin, president of the South Aikido School. “So inviting an expert like Master Guillaume Erard allows us to get a little closer to the Japanese school,” he adds.
This experience with an international expert brings a great deal to practitioners in La Réunion. “It shows in greater technical precision,” comments Yanis Hoareau, regional federal delegate of the Réunion Aikido League. “These are things we already work on, but seeing them presented in a different way is always a valuable contribution,” he adds.
“With Guillaume Erard, we learn an enormous amount,” testifies Gérard Tayllamin. “A single detail is enough to unbalance our partner or immobilize them.”
A Non-Competitive Martial Art
Aikido is a martial art centered on combat, yet it is deliberately non-competitive. “Aikido has internal values of non-competition that seem very important to me in an environment where everything is competitive: school, sports, business,” says Guillaume Erard.
“I’m a biologist, and I start from the idea that our species doesn’t need to be taught competition—it’s in our genes. On the contrary, being able to place ourselves in a situation of cooperation and mutual elevation (…) for me, that’s something quite unique to Aikido,” concludes the international expert.
A traditional discipline that appears very aesthetic and harmless, but is in reality highly physical and effective.
This article is based on the original text published in French.
