Mike: Now Mark, you study, or you do Aikido. Is that right?

Mark: Yeah, I started studying Aikido when I was about 15 years old.

Mike: And what got you interested in Aikido?

Mark: Well, I saw a demonstration at a church one time and I immediately fell in love with it, and it works out great because I'm not that big of a guy and Aikido is a kind of martial art where small people can throw big people.

Mike: Do you get a lot of chances to throw big people?

Mark: Well, not recently, but definitely when I was practicing, when I was studying, it would be interesting because some big guys would come into the class and they wanted to show that they were very tough, and... but usually they were the easiest to throw.

Mike: Because they have the extra weight?

Mark: Well, yeah, because they attacked and they, in their lives, they're so used to using lots of strength, so their attack would be very hard and in Aikido, the harder you attack, the easier it is to throw.

Mike: Now, what interests you, or what do you like the most about Aikido?

Mark: Well, I guess at first, like any martial art, I just like the idea of I can defend myself if someone attacks me, but later, I just really enjoyed the exercise of it, and you learn some really cool techniques that ... how to take someone off balance or to throw them and it's really easy after you study it for awhile.

Mike: Interesting. Thanks.