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Aikido’s founder, Morihei
Ueshiba, was born in Japan on December 14, 1883. As a boy, he often saw
local thugs beat up his father for political reasons. He set out to make
himself strong so that he could take revenge. He devoted himself to hard
physical conditioning and eventually to the practice of martial arts,
receiving certificates of mastery in several styles of jujitsu, fencing
and spear fighting. In spite of his impressive physical and martial
capabilities, he felt very dissatisfied. He began delving into religions
in hopes of finding a deeper significance to life, all the while
continuing to pursue his studies of budo, or the martial arts. By
combining his martial training with his religious and political
ideologies, he created the modern martial art of Aikido. O-Sensei
decided on the name "Aikido" in 1942 (prior to that he called his
martial art "aikibudo" and "aikinomichi").
Aikido is rooted in several
styles of jujitsu (from which modern judo is also derived), in
particular Daito-ryu(aiki) jujitsu, as well as sword and spear fighting
arts. Oversimplifying somewhat, we may say that Aikido takes the joint
locks and throws from jujitsu and combines them with the body movements
of sword and spear fighting. However, we must also realize that many
Aikido techniques are the result of O-Sensei’s own innovation. |
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" Aikido is the
principle of nonresistance."
- O-Sensei
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On the surface, it appears to be
an art involving pins and throws that were evolved from jiu-jitsu as
well as kenjutsu, jojutsu and other arts. Aikido does not focus on
blocking, punching and kicking. Instead, the emphasis is on uniting your
efforts with the attacker to control the situation. It is not a static
art but places a great deal of emphasis on the dynamics of movement.
Upon deeper examination, you may find self-defense, peace of mind,
physical fitness or greater teachings.
Aikido can be translated as
follows: Ai means Unite or Combine, Ki is the Energy inherent in any
object or being, and Do means Way or Path, resulting in a translation of
"Combine Energy Way". Some place more emphasis on different components
to greater or lesser degrees. It is important to remember that Aikido is
a Budo, where Bu is often translated as War but literally means Stop
Spear and Do means Way resulting in a translation of "Stop Spear Way".
It may seem paradoxical for a martial art to strive for peace, but it is
an essential understanding to any martial art.
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