First we see the cast of Stranger Things on the mat in Japan practicing Aikido. And less than 2 weeks later Aikido is back in Netflix hit serie ‘La Casa de Papel’. It seems Aikido founds it’s way on TV. We’ll try to avoid spoilers, but there are no guarantees. 

If you haven’t seen Casa de Papel yet, the story is about a mysterious man who calls him self  ‘The Professor’. He’s organizing the biggest heist in Spain with eight different people, whom he will teach how to do that. The plan is to escape with €2,4 billion. Sounds great already right? With a score of 7,5 out of 10 on IMDB it says this serie is worth watching if you haven’t done so.

In the new season 3 (episode 2) ‘The Professor’ is talking about Aikido. When he asks the group about what Aikido is, the group has no idea. Denver and Nairobi make fun of it saying it’s like some sort of conditioner. While the Professor continues, he explains the fundament of Aikido, using the strength of your opponent against it self. It becoms clear that he is using this as a strategy for his next heist, and bit by bit the whole group is falling in love with Aikido!!

So what is it that we can learn from Casa de Papel? It’s a perfect example on how to use Aikido off the mat and apply it in daily life. As an Aikidoka we tend to focus a lot on the technical side and less on the application of Aikido in daily life. With this blog we hope that you’ll spot the Aikido moments in your daily life. (And how you apply them.) If you succeed in applying the Aikido strategy, the world will be a much happier place! Just to make clear; this does not mean robbing a bank like in Casa de Papel!! We’ll provide you with different examples.

For example when you are driving your car in traffic, and someone is behind you trying to push you a side. You can’t speed up because there are more cars in front of you. He makes it very clear that he wants you to move. This behavior makes you frustrated, and maybe even angry. Things like ‘maybe I should step on the brake to shock him’ or ‘I’ll just drive slower’ are not making the situation any better. Probably worse. What to do? Aikido teaches you not to battle, so when you let the guys care pass you won’t have that frustration any more. And when you drive behind him you let him do the work of moving other cars. (But just like in Aikido you need to keep contact, because if he makes a mistake you don’t want to crash into his car!)

The other example is based on the atemi (blow or strike to the body, not a hit). When you are pitching an idea to a room full of people. The obvious goal is to sell your idea. The ‘normal’ thing to do is start your pitch how good the idea is. But if you are not the only person pitching that day, your presentation will be forgotten easily. So what you can do is something ’surprising’! Like slamming with your fist on the desk when you say ‘what has to change’ to empower your idea. (The atemi.) It ‘stops’ the mind of the jury like a tiny reset. Of course there are more gental ways to think of. But it does make your presentation a bit more memorable.

Are you reading this and think ‘I have far more better examples’ please let us know! Or share it on your social! The idea is to inspire people to Aikido, so let us do that.