MARIGOT—Antonio Gummels was awarded his 3rd degree black belt on Saturday following an Aikido class in the Lycée on Saturday.
The distinction was presented to him by Christian Clement, Technical Instructor for the region of Guadeloupe, and himself a 5th Dan Black Belt who was on island.
“I feel very honoured to receive this grade,” said Gummels. “Here in St. Martin it’s difficult to be graded so I’ve had to travel to improve. I’ve been teaching since 1998 and giving classes and travelling has been difficult.”
Gummels got his first degree black belt in 1999, in 2004 his second degree black belt and now in 2015 his third.
“Normally the progression would be faster but as I’m alone on the island no one can see the progress so I had to travel to show what I can do,” he added. “Christian Clement has been keeping an eye on us to keep the level of Aikido up to par, according to French Federation standards.”
“Clement comes to the island every three to four months to ensure the training we get here is not straying too far away from the practise as it should be,” added Aikido student Dominique Noiré. “When you start repeating mistakes he trains us the way he has been trained by the higher ranks, to get us back in line.”
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that promotes non violence and resolution of conflicts. There is no competition, no medals, and no winners and losers.
“It’s the only martial art that is not a sport,” Dominique explains. “There’s a reward, like the degree, after so many years of practise. You learn form. It’s a level of expertise, to perfect the technique which changes all the time because you are up against different types of people and have to adapt. And the attack is never the same.”
