The flailing arms, high kicks, twists and crouches may look eccentric, but the walking style of exercise guru Duke Saraye is sweeping Japan with its unique mix of yoga, ballet, aerobics and other Oriental and Western ideas.
"Sole is soul -- if you don't tread right, your soul won't become clean," 49-year-old Saraye, wearing a trademark black T-shirt and lycra skullcap, told a class of 60 women, young and old during a recent two-hour class at a Tokyo hall.
The moves, which would doubtless win approval from legendary British comedy group Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks, include energetic high-stepping, leg swinging and shoulder rolls, as well as flowing hand movements reminiscent of taichi.
"My walking is totally different from conventional styles as it makes people happy and cheerful," he said, explaining his style enables the practitioner to borrow invisible power from the earth to create synergy with his or her own inner energy.
Saraye, whose real first name is Takuya but is better known as "Duke," claims to be a descendant of a mountain ascetic who served Emperor Go-Daigo (1288 to 1339).
Along with videos, his books have sold hun-dreds of thousands of copies, with the number of followers swelling as they believe "Duke's Walking" has brought them health, weight loss and even good luck.
His latest book, Duke Saraye's One-minute Super Walking Therapy, has sold over 50,000 copies in little more than a month since it was published in late January.
"The best thing I got from attending his classes is this positive feeling," an amicable Eri Kashiwagi said while taking the evening lesson.
"I had shut myself up at home due to mental trouble ... or depression, but I was able to change since I started doing this walking last May," the 39-year-old housewife said.
"Even if you come in for a lesson with your spirits low, you will be feeling good by the time you leave," she said.
Married with two girls, Saraye is based in Monaco but he admits it is mainly to "impress Japanese people with the status."
The self-confessed heavy drinker sleeps only three-to-four hours a day, advocating "high tension while having your own presence of mind."
Noriko Kuwayama, a 56-year-old publisher's proofreader, said she was attracted by Saraye's personality.
"The exercise has shaped my body up especially around the hips, but I'm more attracted by his amusing talk," she said.
Students switch from training shoes to low-heeled pumps in the final part of his class. Saraye vidotapes them as they walk, while shouting out encouragement such as "You look beautiful" or "Think; `I'm an actress.'"
He then shows the tape to individual students to give advice.
"You might realize you still look bad even though you believed your walking improved after taking the lesson ... Imagine how bad you were before coming here," he said.
Saraye originally trained fashion models to sashay down the catwalk, but a major turning point in his life came 13 years ago when his mother died of liver cancer at the age of 69.
She died six months after becoming bedridden after falling the stairs, and 10 years after her husband, who suffered mental problems, hanged himself.
"Her last words were `Mum will hold out' ... I think she regretted giving up life," he said, adding the key to better living was being able to walk on your own feet.
"Lots of people are seeking to be `healed' by others but I want to tell them; `Stand up on your own two feet.'"
His class ended with a spiritual session to "purify your chakra," with students told to imagine a champagne pink-gold ball of energy rolling along their body and then radiating from it as they flung their arms in the air, chanting "Pink, gold!"
Saraye said his ultimate goal is to build a spacious venue where anybody can come and walk and exercise for their physical and mental health.
"I want money, I want to be popular and adored but what I want most is to build a `Walking Paradise,'" he said.
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