It’s nearly three months now since I began studying Iaido at Multnomah Aikikai, and so I thought I’d take a moment to express some thoughts about my experience.

Many people would with good reason think it an act of lunacy to take up training in the martial arts at the age of 60, let alone in the art of Iaido, the “way of sword drawing.” Perhaps. But I chose to do so because I felt a compulsion I could no longer ignore after more than thirty years of having done so. I listened to this compulsion and am happy I did!

In spite of (or perhaps because of) my physical limitations, I decided I was tired of my own excuses. We all have them, right? I have plenty of old wounds that hurt every day. I have an autoimmune disorder that requires constant treatment in order to keep my body from turning upon itself in a nasty way. Knees, joints, and tired old tendons, yes, of course they constantly growl and naw at me. Such is life after living a good long while, yes? It’s all the more reason to begin again, and to take up a bit of serious training!

I trained in the martial arts from my mid teens onwards without settling for long with any school, and spent a good number of years as a practicing buddhist, before setting it all aside for reasons I have yet to fully determine. Part of it, I’m sure, is due to a painful introversion I’ve never been able to shake. It makes things involving regular social interaction difficult, to say the least. This includes training in a dojo!

After long years away from the dojo, I missed the training I was once so enthusiastic about. The one thing I knew with any certainty when I walked into Multnomah Aikikai last August was that I had decided to begin something I had wanted to do for half my life: study Iaido, the way of the sword. I set aside the reluctant, whispering voices of doubt and said yes, it’s time!

I feel welcome here in the dojo, and my sensei is a kind yet firm encouragement in this new path I’ve taken. I hope to continue my training here, where I am beginning to find my way again!

-Mark Hansen