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Aikido

Aikido Development and History

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 fight for truth. He devoted himself to hard physical conditioning and eventually to the practice of martial arts, receiving certificates of mastery in several styles of jujitsu (unarmed combat), kenjitsu (sword fighting), and sojitsu (spear fighting). In spite of his impressive physical and martial capabilities, however, 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. The formulation of Aikido dates from an incident that occurred in 1925.

In the course of a discussion about martial arts, a disagreement arose between O-Sensei and a naval officer who was a fencing instructor. the officer challenged O-Sensei to a match, and attacked with wooden sword. O-Sensei faced the officer unarmed, and won the match by evading blows until his attacker dropped from exhaustion. He later recalled that he could see opponent's moves before they were executed, and that this was the beginning of his enlightenment.

O-Sensei later wrote: "Budo (the martial way) is not felling the opponent by our force; not is it a tool to lead the world into destruction with arms. True budo is to accept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace of the world, correctly produce, protect, and cultivate all things in nature. "Ueshiba decided on the name "Aikido" in 1942 (before that he called his martial art "aikibudo" and "aikinomichi").

On the technical side, Aikido is rooted in several styles of jujitsu (from which modern judo is also derived), in particular daitoryu-(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 Master Ueshiba's own innovation.

On the religious side, Ueshiba was a devotee of one of Japan's so-called new religions, Omotokyo. One goal of Omotokyo has been the unification of all humanity in a single "heavenly kingdom on earth" where all religions would be united. It is impossible to sufficiently understand many of O Sensei's writings and sayings without keeping the influence of Omotokyo firmly in mind.

O-Sensei continued to practice and teach aikido into his old age. Observers would marvel at his martial abilities, vitality, and good humor; he was still giving public demonstrations of aikido four months before his death at age 86 in April of 1969. After he passed away, the Japanese government declared Morihei Ueshiba a Sacred National Treasure of Japan. O-Sensei's son, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, inherited the title "Doshu" (Leader of the Way) until his death in January of 1999. The tile of Doshu now resides with Kisshomaru’s son, Moriteru Ueshiba.

Despite what many people think or claim, there is no unified philosophy of Aikido. What there is, instead, is a disorganized and only partially coherent collection of religious, ethical, and metaphysical beliefs which are only more or less shared by Aikidoists, and which are either transmitted by word of mouth or found in scattered publications about Aikido. At the core of almost all philosophical interpretations of Aikido, however, we may identify at least two fundamental threads: (i) a commitment to self-improvement through training and (ii) a commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible.

The ART of PEACE

Daily Training in the Art of Peace allows your inner divinity to shine brighter and brighter.  Do not concern yourself with the right and wrong of others.  Do not be calculating or act unnaturally.  Keep your mind focused on the Art of Peace, and do not criticize other teachers or traditions. The Art of Peace never restrains or shackles anything.  It embraces all and purifies everything.

O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba