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Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Defying Old age:Jeanne Liebermann

 A KICKING GRAND MA: OLD AGE IS A MYTH


“Old age? There is no such thing!” Mme. Jeanne Lieberman replied in response to a question whether her age of 92 plus was weighing on her. She was a martial arts Grand master who lived in France, in the late twentieth century.


This was her response to a question by Claude Bobin, who was interviewing her. Check the 1978 September issue of the Indian Reader’s digest and you can read the article. I am giving the summary here.


Mme. Jeanne Lieberman started learning martial arts at the tender age of 63, when most of us would prefer retiring from the armchair to the sofa- watching the antics of our grand children. But for her, it was the beginning of a new life- a life of conquering and self-discovery plus a whole new vista of opportunities and healing for a lot of people past 60. She had prepared herself though. She was a regular practitioner of Yoga. And she was fired with Inspiration!


She joined a Judo Dojo (martial arts school) in Paris. When she went to enroll, the joke goes that the instructor asked if it was for her son or her grandson. Imagine his surprise when she replied it was for her!


Her astounding progress soon put an end to the apprehensions of her instructor and her younger classmates and she completed her black belt in sharp five years!


She didn’t rest on her achievement, though. She went to Japan and started polishing up the Aikido skills that she had started learning in France. Aikido is a non-violent form of self-defense. She practised under Master Tadashi Abe for four years before she secured her black belt in Aikido(!).


No, that is not the end of the story. At the age of 72, she started learning Kung fu (Wing Chun). She received her black belt in Kung fu at the age of 80, from Master Hoangnam of the famed Shaolin temple, China! Astounding, isn’t it? To think how much an old lady would exert, pushing herself to the limits.


Her diet is very simple: a carrot for breakfast, an egg for lunch and a potato and a spoonful of honey for supper. 


Mme Lieberman’s dedication paid off abundantly. She achieved such a level of prowess that she was able to perform unbelievable feats. She has demonstrated her skills in several ways: In one such demo, she pinned a trained (black belt), 1.8 m tall, 200 kg athlete to the ground in less than one second and then repeated the feat nine times!


Pretty tempting skill to acquire isn’t it? This should be inspiration for young and old alike.


But Mme Lieberman was not an aggressive person. Her personal philosophy was rooted in silence, tolerance, understanding, and love.


She returned to Paris and started her own martial arts class. She developed her own style synthesizing the three martial arts and Yoga.


Most of her disciples are in their sixties or seventies. Some of them have had extraordinary experiences. One seventy year old student, (Adele Nicole) was attacked by two young muggers in the dark side alleys of Paris . She was able to ward off their attack easily and hold one of them in a paralyzing arm lock, with him begging for mercy.


At a time when we keep hearing stories of estranged and isolated old people,who have been abandoned by their children, Mme. Lieberman’s story is heartening in that it gives inspiration to stand up for ourselves, dig into the resources within ourselves and prove to ourselves and the world that we can take care of ourselves, and much more!


Martial arts are a sure fire way to keep oneself fit and old age at bay. Martial Arts also help to maintain peace of mind and to develop suppleness of the body. They are one of the best means to make one's leisure worthwhile. Of course, to the enthusiastic follower, who has dedicated his life to martial arts, nothing but perfection would do.


The lives of people like Jeanne Liebermann convey Inspiration in us to achieve all that we are capable of, to question our limits and forge ahead.

Here is a link to an audio recording of an interview with Mme. Liebermann, circa 1975:
http://www.ina.fr/audio/PHD95074356


UPDATE 02/01/2019:
This is the only other original article on Mme.Jeanne Liebermann on the web (as far as my extended google searches proved):
http://ecoletenchiaikido.com/jeanne-lieberman-ou-la-lecon-de-vie/

This is a translation from Google:

Jeanne Lieberman or the lesson of life.
BY JEAN-MARIE TUNGLE FEBRUARY 17, 2014 IN TESTIMONIALS TAGGED AIKIDO, JEANNE LIEBERMAN, JUDO, KUNG-FU, LESSON OF LIFE, YOGA WITH 9 COMMENTS
Jeanne Lieberman (1891-1987) was in the 70s a "phenomenon" mediatized because of a singular career.
First, she started Yoga at the age of 40 which for the time was already unusual. An uncommon mind pushed her to discover more. Also at 58, she started Judo and received the 1st Dan at 63, then Aikido and 1st Dan and finally started Kung Fu at age 75 to get the 1st Dan at 8O.
She teaches these subjects to students, mostly women, between 40 and over 80! A televised report of the time shows, teaching in his apartment in the 9th arrondissement in Paris to old students dropping ... on the floor!

There are characters who live and demonstrate an art of aging well, where time has no hold because they live in good mood and positive thinking in the present moment. This is a good lesson that should make us think on nights of laziness, pain or bad weather!

Here is an excerpt from an article published by "My natural health" that summarizes his philosophy of life. To meditate…


Jeanne Lieberman

"What Jeanne Lieberman thinks of old age

After the age of fifty most people imagine that they are irreparably committed to the path of decline. They have the impression that the game is played, that it is too late to undertake, that nothing will ever be the same again. This negative feeling is only the result of preconceived ideas, which are reinforced in our society by the segregation between the generations. There are millions of men and women who think they are old when they are only in their imagination.

The notion of youth or old age has nothing to do with the number of years that have actually elapsed since our birth. It's a question of state of mind. There are thirty-year-olds and eighties!

Old age begins when one thinks one is old, because we are nothing but what we think we are. So just change the course of our thoughts to transform our lives. It must be understood that age does not bring about the end of development; on the contrary, it is the cessation of development that causes old age.

How can one never think of one's age? By living fully every minute of your life instead of uselessly rehashing the past, or guessing what the future will bring you. Only the present counts, because only the present is true.

About death

The fear of death is also responsible for many wasted lives. Why worry? The body inevitably disappears one day and we will all go through what we call a word charged with apprehension and misconceptions, "death". It is curious that we are afraid to leave the earth, ie darkness, to advance in full light. Those who "know" aspire to this divine moment. It is the ignorant who fear the unknown.

It is very difficult, it is true, for most individuals, not to separate death from life. However, this notion of separation is precisely at the root of all our torments. To understand that death can not be separated from life, we must admit, first of all, that evolution does not stop, life never stops. There is continuity in everything. What we call death is only a change of state after transformation.

"Nothing dies, everything is created and recreated at every moment," said Lavoisier. Why would man be an exception to this rule? Certainly our body disappears, but the spirit remains, and our soul will rejoice the day when it will escape from the envelope that suffocates it. Death is not an end, it is the beginning of a new life. Think of it this way and death will lose its gloomy sadness.

In the meantime, let us make the most of our earthly existence while remaining young as long as possible. Why be sad under the pretext that we are getting older? Sadness is hell in itself, and the door open to all evils. Cheerfulness, on the other hand, is the blossoming of being and the understanding of life. Be cheerful and everyone will be around you. The best antidotes to old age are called optimism and enthusiasm, which go hand in hand with the ability to love.


To react against apathy and pessimism, there is a wonderful way that everyone knows and that very few use is singing. For many years now, in my class all my students sing. Some had never sung in their lives and at first they looked at me in awe when I suggested they sing. Now they could not do without it. What's more beautiful and more toned than a rising voice? Try! Sing and you will see life in another light.

Can we stay young when we are sick?

Here is the specter of the disease coming forward ... As if there was a direct relationship between age and disease! No. One can be sick as well at seven, or at twenty-five as at eighty. The truth is that from a certain age most people are afraid of being sick, and by thinking about it, they end up becoming so.

How many are watching each other, pawing, squirming on all the seams, until they have finally found a little something wrong? So, they make a novel. Their "illness" becomes their major concern, their reason for living. What is sadder than these old people spending their time talking about their illness as a loved one. Tell them about their visits to the doctor and compare the merits of their respective treatments. Is not there better to do than to look with complacency on the small miseries of the body? Life flows during this time.

The first thing to do is not to think about the disease. That said, it can happen that we are really sick. In this case, we are treated, that's all. But the best is still to do, what it takes to not get sick. The disease is not inevitable, it can be avoided thanks to a healthy lifestyle. It is the man who degrades his health by ignorance or contempt of the laws of nature.

The path of eternal youth

Feel like something other than a bundle of flesh and bones devoured by desires. Be aware of possessing a soul, a spirit, which belongs to ALL the universe. Man, unlike the tree, does not plunge his roots into the earth, his own rise to the sky and feed on the infinite.

The energetic force that governs the world is anxiously waiting for you to come out of your shell to fulfill your needs. "


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 Enjoy Old Age: A Practical GuideNever Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old AgeTotal Aikido: The Master Course (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior)Best Aikido: The Fundamentals (Illustrated Japanese Classics)
The Secret Teachings of AikidoKodokan Judo: The Essential Guide to Judo by Its Founder Jigoro KanoWing Chun Kung Fu: Traditional Chinese King Fu for Self-Defense and HealthThe Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

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Sudheer said...

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Ravi Kumar said...

Hi, This is really an amazing story worth reading and worth following (atleast to an exact that we can!).

Thnx
Ravi Kumar

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