Ian Beale doing aikido

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[Dazzler]

Last night I came in late from training...a bit of a celebration because its the last class before a lot of students grade this weekend. :)

Was it the lager making me dream...or was my girlfriend really watching a tape of 'Eastenders' with Ian Beale reading an Aikido book?

Anyone know the story line?

what book was he reading?

Are we going to get a surge of newbies with personalities to match young Beale? :crazy:

Cheers

D

[Alex Megann]

I missed this on Tuesday (I was at an Aikido class, funnily enough), and then completely failed in my attempts to record it from BBC3 at ten o'clock. I'm planning to record (rather than watch, since I've lost track recently of what's going on in Eastenders) the Omnibus edition on Sunday.

I gather the producer was quite keen on getting at least some of the details right. The BAF Office got a phone call a few weeks ago asking where one could get hold of a picture of someone called something like "Yoosheeba", as an Aikido class was apparently supposed to have one. Not having seen the episode yet, I don't know what the class Ian attended was like.

Alex

[ruthmc]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/eastenders/episodes/episode_content/episode20050712.shtml

Tells you all about it on pages 1 and 3. It may be worth watching for the throwing bit ;)

And no, I don't watch any soaps, I got the link from an Aikido pal :)

Ruth

[dan guthrie]

For us ignorant non-Brits, what's the equivalent soap to "Eastenders?"

[spinecracker]

There are no American soaps like 'Eastenders' - we Brits have cornered the World market in severely depressing, in-your-face soaps. Think of it as ' General Hospital' with half the cast trying to throw themselves down the elevator shafts.......oh, and we don't have aliens (except illegal aliens) in our soaps (unless coronation Street has really gone down hill!) :)

[spinecracker]

and I just remembered - the BBC used to have a drama called, I think, 'King and Castle" with Nigel Planer (the hippy on the 'Young Ones') who did Aikido - the BBC has, or had, a dojo at, or near, their main studio where he practiced.

[Richard Cardwell]

I read somewhere recently that the scriptwriter who shoehorned aikido in is a yudansha somewhere in London.

I believe Beale was reading the hardback of Best Aikido, the Basics.

[ajbarron]

Just a note for those whose wives and children go nuts when we get all excited when watching a film were the hero does a nice sankyo (The Bourne Identity) or whatever............... In the Inspector Linney or Lindley series from BBC which is on PBS,Mystery Theater, in a new an episode that a friend sent from England, Lindley's/Linney's Sargent, recovering from being shot is at a resort/hospital, as he visits to pick her up he sees her doing aikido ( in grey sweats) with a female aikidoka in full hakama etc. She's a little stiff ( the Sargent) but the Aikido person looked good . (I couldn't see her name in the credits)

[Aristeia]

and I just remembered - the BBC used to have a drama called, I think, 'King and Castle" with Nigel Planer (the hippy on the 'Young Ones') who did Aikido - the BBC has, or had, a dojo at, or near, their main studio where he practiced.

Finally!!. This was one of the things that got me interested in taking up Aikido but I've never been able to find anyone else who even vaguely remembers it. Thanks Robert, you've made my day.

[Alex Megann]

Getting back to the subject of the thread, this story seems to be ongoing. I watched the episode on Monday, and Ian and family are still going to the class.

In the first episode involving Aikido a couple of weeks ago, Ian was getting very stressed and snapping at all the other characters, including his partner and kids. He noticed an advert for Aikido someone had put up on the wall of the cafe that he runs, and decided to take his family along to a class. Once there, in his usual way he tries to show how knowledgeable he is, but gets shown up.

I can't say I really understood what was going on in the class in the very short sequences included, and there isn't much Aikido per se (although Ian was toppled by a nice shihonage in the first class). I couldn't find the teacher in the cast list, so he may not be an actor, but he looks believable.

I think the series does give Aikido a positive spin overall - Ian is uncharacteristically mellow after the class! In the two episodes I've seen of the programme recently there hasn't been much stress on the self-defence implications, but I can see people who haven't heard of Aikido before feeling inclined to try it.

Alex

[Patrick O'Regan]

Speaking of top notch soaps, Aikido has recently featured on "Neighbours" over here.....or so I've been told:).

You might see it in the UK in a few months.

It is extremely cool that Nigel Planer's character did Aikido. I vaguely remember the show, but not that episode.

Cheers

Paddy

[Alex Megann]

Here are some photos of the class (plus some inane comments at the end!):

http://www.fmforums.co.uk/forums/lofiversion/index.php?t33179.html

Anyone recognise the instructor?

Alex

[spinecracker]

Why Ian Beale? Of all the mixed up people on that show! Then again, I haven't watched Eastenders in a long, long time. Is he still a total idiot in the show?

[markwalsh]

I've just heard about this being stateside from a non aikido friend!

The odd thing is that its portrayal of aikido will become the majority view in the UK- the power of television! Glad ITV seem to have done some research.

I don't recognize the instructor either - they seem to have picked him on his looks (sorry Alex, don't wait by the phone!), what's the technique like?

The interesting thing to me is that the whole basis of the show is conflict - people are always arguing and fighting, it's exhausting - and aikido is an entirely new set of conflict options from the shove back mentality normally shown.

On a broader note, it seems to me like a lot of popular entertainment feeds off the energy of conflict. Historically, plays and novels have often been about setting up a fight and then resolving it - but today it seems more like an ongoing "conflict as a way of life". I've seen it a lot with kids I work with -it's like they're on Jerry Springer in their heads and they can't see life any other way...ok, old man lament over :)


Background for the non Brits/people with taste:

Eastenders is the most popular show on UK television with an audience of about 13 million.
It's set in a grimey area of East London, and the story lines are generally "gritty".
There is a huge amount of conflict in the show.
The show is followed fairly obsessively by many people (not me guv), especially children in my experience.
The phrases, "What's going on?" and "put the kettle on luv" are used every episode without fail.

Mark

[markwalsh]

Come on England, get your ass out of bed, it's time to start drinking here!

[wxyzabc]

Ha ha...quite simply just about the most depressing soap you can imagine...I have no idea why people watch it. Maybe to feel better about their own lives? :D

Lee

[Steve Mullen]

Ah yes, ian beale obviously goes to a class with the most talented sensei in the world of aikido, a few weeks after joining they are doing demos with ushiro-ryoto-tori attacks and jodan ski. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Bridge]

Speaking of top notch soaps, Aikido has recently featured on "Neighbours" over here.....or so I've been told:).

You might see it in the UK in a few months.

It is extremely cool that Nigel Planer's character did Aikido. I vaguely remember the show, but not that episode.

Cheers

Paddy

Did anyone see neighbours last night?

Looks like 's Boyd Hoyland looking to do aikido. Well he was asking Susan about it. :)

[taras]

Come on England, get your ass out of bed, it's time to start drinking here!

There is a valley somewhere in Wales where I went camping once. They have a power station and I was told that there is a spare unit that only kicks in at the time when advert break comes on in Eastenders as everyone in the valley puts their kettles on at the same time. :freaky: