Aikido Instructor Explains How Batman Changed His Life

Check out this video about how Batman inspired an Aikido instructor to follow his dreams!

Batman is an inspirational character.  He represents a man putting all his effort into achieving his personal goal of keeping his city safe so that no one ever has to suffer the way he did when his parents were murdered.  Bruce Wayne is only a human being, but he trained himself to be able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Superman (and win).  He shows people how much of a difference one human can make.

Sensei Rokas Leonavicius is an instructor of the Japanese martial art “aikido” in Lithuania.  In an animated YouTube video, he puts into words just how profound an impact Batman has had on his life, influencing him to follow his dream of teaching aikido.  Watch the video below:

Sensei Rokas first began to look to Batman for guidance in the first two films of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  I can definitely see how Batman Begins could impact a martial arts instructor, especially in the scenes where Bruce is training with the League of Shadows.  Sensei Rokas picks out one quote from Ra’s al Ghul (masquerading as Henri Ducard) as being particularly special to him: “If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely. A legend, Mr. Wayne, a legend.”

Next: A Video Tour Through Batmobile History

Thanks to Batman, Sensei Rokas has his dream job.  If you have a story of Batman being an inspiration in your life, I’d love to read about it in the comments.  Make sure to keep it locked to Caped Crusades for all your Batman news!