AIKIDO
Aikido is a true budo or martial way. It was developed in Japan, by Morihei Ueshiba, or O Sensei (Great Teacher) as he is called by practitioners of the art. O Sensei was a gifted martial artist whose earlier mastery of the sword, staff, spear, and the art of jujutsu won him wide acclaim.
However, O Sensei sought the essence of budo and not merely form. Intense and strong-willed, he continued his rigorous physical and spiritual training and progressed to levels of almost super-human ability. Eventually, through his quest for mastery, he gained enlightenment and insight into the nature of the martial artist’s path. He incorporated these realizations into a science he called Ai-Ki-Do: “The Way of Unity with the Universal Force.”
Training in Aikido is the process of discovering one’s own center of gravity and applying it dynamically in a physical encounter. In this pursuit, the training is naturally non-competitive as each individual seeks to progressively discover themselves on their own terms. Therefore, a spirit of mutual cooperation for this purpose is always strictly observed during practice.
Development in Aikido is a continual process and is not contingent upon age or gender in any way. Practice is conducted using forms as a method of cultivating awareness and learning to respond naturally and effectively to an attack from any given direction. Training the ability to absorb, neutralize, and redirect impact is key to becoming proficient at Aikido. Therefore, “ukemi” (pronounced oo-kem-me) or receiving a technique, is equally as important as executing one.
