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What is Aikido?
Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido
Aikido is both a Japanese martial art and a way of life
based on the principle of non-conflict. Aikido was founded
by Morihei Ueshiba - "O Sensei" - who trained and mastered
various traditional Japanese martial arts such as Jujutsu
and Kenjutsu while undertaking a vigorous spiritual training.
All of these influences are melded into Aikido whose name,
translated into English, means "The Way of Spiritual Harmony".
The purpose of using Aikido techniques is not to hurt an
opponent but to bring the opponent's violence or force under
control. One defends by first blending with an attack, and
then using circular movements to redirect the attack into
a throw or immobilization. In other words, Aikido focuses
on creating harmony between the attacker and defender and
bringing the conflict to a peaceful resolution.
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