with any response—sometimes from only one person, sometimes from multiple. The minutes go by, person after person comes up to attack me, and the sensei calls out different techniques for me to demonstrate. I feel strong and capable but exerted as the test goes on. Soon it is randori. My dad comes up. Breathing deeply, I soften my eyes to take in everything around me equally. My dad’s gray hair and blue hakama blend into the background of the white dojo and people watching from all sides. His face is focused, his arms out of sight. The attack could spring from any angle, any direction, either hand—or a foot if he wants to throw me off guard. Finally it comes, a grab to the wrist, and the Father-Daughter Dance begins: The force of his hold, coming through his body to mine, pushes me back. I stumble and regain my balance. Grounding down, I concentrate on bringing my strength up from that point in my center—my place of power—through my hips, and extending it through my arm. Right then, with everyone watching us, it doesn’t matter that I am 14 years old and he is 48 or that he has 90 pounds and 10 inches on me. Raising the arm my dad holds, I edge into position, stabilize my feet, and extend up to him. I bend at the knees. Now he simply has to trust. Trust the form. Trust me. Slowly, I lower him onto my back. He leans in, knowing I had trained and practiced all this time just to hold him up right now. His feet lift off the ground. But instead of flipping him over right away, I pause to bounce him around a few times, upsidedown, his head poised toward the floor. The sound of laughter rises up from the room. I grin and hold my father on my back for a few more milliseconds. I’ve got him this time. Then—in a blink—I fling him over me, his turn now to streak through the air, much cooler than any action-figure movie star. We’ve both come this far together, holding each other up, learning to fly. ◆ Sophia Nicholas’ first story for CATALYST, “Working to Return From War,” appeared last month. Her “day job” is with HEAL Utah.
You can practice aikido with Rick Berardini Sensei at Utah Aikikai, 3474 South 2300 East, Suite 12. Ph (801) 272-0707. WWW.UTAHAIKI.COM
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