Who is Joël Chemin?
Born in a working class family, product of may 68, Joël left France in 72 with his wife Annie, to travel the world First they hitchhiked from Nantes to Istanbul, and then they travelled throughTurkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmere and India with local transports. They stayed four months in India, where they were shaken up by their experiences.
Joël who used to be very rational started to be interested by Benares and Khajuraho. Their travel continued on and when money ran short they need to go to Australia by boat to find work. In order to get there however, the authorities in Singapur insisted on themalready having a return flight ticket. Annie and Joël didn’t have enough money to buy it.
Vietnam was at war, Cambodgia too. Annie and Joël decided to go to Laos to work, even if the situation there was tense. The stayed for 7 month. They worked on small jobs, and Joël caught malaria. Their financial situation worsened. During this time they heard that it was easier to find work in Japan. So they sold their camera, and bought plane tickets to Japan.
They arrived in Japan in september, 1974. It is the beginning of another travel, with the discovery of Aïkido and Tai ji Quan at its centre. In September 1981, they came back to France.
Opening of the “Dojo”, in Toulouse, in 1982
|
