AIKIDO

As a traditional Japanese budo ( 武道 martial art), aikido maintains the qualities of martial spirit, effective technique and intense yet fun training. The basic movements of aikido are circular in nature, coupled precise timing and balance with the premise of reciprocal compassion and respect between attacker (受け uke) and defender (投げ nage). One trains to blend with, rather than directly confront, aggression. A martial art solely concerned with winning and losing is not true budo. The goal of aikido is to understand which of the numerous principals and concepts to quickly choose from while having a calm mind, body and spirit in the face of aggression. In this regard, Morihei Ueshiba [aka: O-Sensei "great teacher"] created a martial art in which the preservation of one’s attacker is equally important as one’s own self-defense. The aikido philosophy is that true budo, is victory over oneself quickly, "masakatsu, agatsu, katsuhayabi, for you are your greatest obstacle.

The word aikido is composed of three Japanese characters: 

合 AI - to fuse

気 KI - energy 

道 DO - the way

The art of aikido containes many throws, joint locks and pins from various standing or kneeling positions chosen from select techinques and concepts from three old school hand to hand styles (Daito-ryu, Tenjin Shinyo-ryu, Kito-ryu) and one sword style (Yagyu Shinkage-ryu) coupled with some spiritual inovations from Morihei Ueshiba. O-Sensei developed aikido during the 1930s to 1960s timeframe.

Some of the principals & concepts contained in aikido are:

• Sumikiri (澄み切り  to have perfectly clear mind)

• Enten (円転 all things move circularly)

• Ki Shin Tai Ichinyo (気心体一如 spirit, mind & body are as one)

• Ki Soku (気数 keep breathing)

• Seiza Naikan (正座内観  be stoic in front of aggression)

• Irimi (入身 enter the problem’s dead angle)

• Sabaki (捌き don’t stay still)

• Katame (固め control the issue)

• Hoki (法気 radiate your aura)

• Inyo (陰陽 yin & yang)