Aikido
AI (Love) KI (Spirit) DO (the way of)
Aikido is a Japanese self-defense art that was once kept secret and taught only to the nobility class of Japan. When it.s originator, Master Ueshiba made it public after the Second World War, there was an immediate public demand because its principles were so profound.
Unlike other self-defense systems that are based on arousing a fighting spirit, as seen in most of today.s popular self-defense, the art of Aikido is based on harmony, non-resistance and love. We believe like spirits attack and arouse their likeness so that violence breeds more violence and that competitiveness and aggressiveness arouse the same in others in a vicious cycle. Violence need not be countered with more violence if we can find a better way. In Aikido, we study that Way. The defensive techniques and movement in the art of Aikido express this study.
In fighting or competing, one gains victory at another.s expense. One wins because the other loses. Aikido is not concerned with winning over others but improving and advancing with others harmoniously. For this reason, Aikido teaches defensive movements only and includes no competition. An Aikido practitioner is forbidden to provoke or accept challenges and learns the clear difference between a fight and an attack. A fight always involves two willing participants.
In Aikido, we win by winning over our own mind of discord.
Aikido techniques are based on non-collision and non-resistance rather than strength so that anyone, young or old, man or woman can practice them. An attack is never stopped; it is met and guided in a way that causes the attacker to be thrown by the directional force of his own attack. In addition to throws, Aikido also employs wrist and arm pins. Although these techniques can be extremely painful and can drive an aggressor to the ground almost immediately, they are not designed to break bones or cause severe injury. All wrist and elbow bending is based on the natural movement of the body with muscles being stretched and joints being stimulated in a healthy way.
Professor Morihei Ueshiba, the developer of Aikido, was a master of many Japanese martial arts and a profoundly devoted student of the human spirit. His studies led him to a martial art that would .harmonize ourselves with the movement of the Universe and bring ourselves into accord with the Universe itself.
The premise of Aikido is that the mind and body is a single unit. Through Aikido.s physical discipline of repetition of basic movements and exercises, we learn to adapt safely to all outside stimuli. Practice is done with a partner so that a learning situation is fostered where protection for the individual extends to the protection of others as well. Students learn concentration and relaxation that lead to a centered physical and mental state. They gain a deeper knowledge of many aspects of themselves, develop their sensitivity and build self-confidence.
