By Elizabeth Kneisley
Staff Writer
Many adults stay in shape by running or lifting weights, but few know about the rigorous art of Aikido.
Zeoli attended UCLA for his bachelor’s degree and later attended Pepperdine University where he obtained his master’s degree. He is now in his 10th year of teaching and currently teaches freshman and AP English.
“I have been doing martial arts for about seven years,” Zeoli said. “My close friend and former colleague, William Brown, has been studying Aikido, a form of martial arts for many years, and he persuaded me to check it out.”
Aikido is a defensive art form that includes many submission locks, holds, kicks and punches. Its form is designed so a fight can be ended quickly with as little damage as possible done to the body. It takes years of training to master the sport.
“I honestly don’t anticipate getting into fights; I really find that what is most meaningful to me are the ways that the practice of Aikido has application in daily life,” Zeoli said. “For example, rather than trying to resist something straight on, the idea is to keep one’s equilibrium and balance to solve the problem.”
Aikido, like all other martial art forms, takes practice, concentration, motivation and discipline. Zeoli explains that when a martial art fighter is on the mats, he has to be present mentally and physically; otherwise, he will get hurt. The competitor has to focus on his attacker and be prepared for the next move.
“Practices can be rough and physical, but in my opinion, the study of Aikido is like the study of literature: there is no fixed endpoint when one has exhausted the possibilities,” Zeoli said.
No matter what move he is perfecting or what book he is analyzing, Zeoli knows that there is always more to improve upon.
“One cannot say that he has completely figured literature out and that there is nothing more to think about. The process is much more important than the product; the road is more interesting than the final destination,” Zeoli said.
Zeoli practices Aikido in Torrance two to three times a week. Sometimes he practices with his two sons. Brown has influenced Zeoli by expressing his view on the philosophy behind Aikido and being an extraordinary teacher of the art form.
“It isn’t so much that I was looking to try a martial art that made me take up this practice, but rather, the way that Brown explained what he was doing that piqued my interest,” Zeoli said.
The most valuable experience Zeoli has gained from participating in Aikido is to appreciate constructive criticism. In the classroom, for example, instead of reacting angrily from a poor grade on an exam, a student can learn from his or her previous mistakes to improve herself greatly.
“I like sharing with my students that I have someone that I look up to and learn from,” Zeoli said. “I have someone into whose hands I can put myself with such trust that I simply say, ‘Thank You’ when I am taught something.”
Leave a Reply