Aikido is a form of Budo (meaning martial way) developed by
Morihei
Ueshiba (also know to Aikido students as O’Sensei).
Ueshiba Sensei
studied many martial disciplines through out his life. As a result of
his studies, life experiences and strong religious beliefs he created
the art of Aikido. Many describe Aikido as using an attackers own
energy to throw or pin them with minimal damage inflicted upon the
aggressor. Instead of fighting with the person we move with the
direction of energy and use that to our advantage. To me this is an
over simplification of an art that is very complex in both its physical
and philosophical application. On the surface these descriptions are
true enough, but when you have trained for a while these ideas tend to
shift to something more meaningful. Aikido’s physical
applications are
apparent, but the way it encourages people to improve themselves is not
as easily seen. Aikido promotes harmony, understanding, honor,
courage,
respect, etc. These are all great ideals that we strive not only to
apply in our physical practice, but also in the world among our fellow
human beings. Aikido is first and foremost a martial art. It is through
our diligent practice that mind, body and spirit are forged into
something strong. Everyone that trains in Aikido has a wide
variety of
motivations for doing so. Some are looking for a martial art with a
sense of morality similar to their own. Others are looking for self
defense or something to help them get needed exercise. No matter what
peoples motivations are for training it is crucial to take their study
seriously. In this art it is not our intention to injure our partner,
but we need to understand that the possibility is there. As a result it
is our responsibility to approach our training with a certain focus and
proper attitude. This is not to suggest that training can’t be
both
serious and fun at the same time. Aikido practice should be enjoyable
as well as practical. If you are interested in more details surrounding
the history of Aikido and Morihei Ueshiba (O’Sensei) the founder
there
are many books available as well as websites with a wealth of
information on these subjects.
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