What Is Aikido?What Is Aikido?
Aikido is the principle of nonresistance.
Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido
Because it is nonresistant, it is victorious from the beginning.
Those with evil intentions or contentious thoughts are instantly vanquished.
Ai (pronounced eye). Ai means harmony. Aikido's principles are embodied in the
word "ai". The strategy of Aikido is to blend or harmonize with the
attacker's energy. Aikido is non-aggressive. However, misinterpretations
of "harmony" arise. First, people think harmony means passive. This
is not Aikido. On the contrary, Aikido is extremely dynamic and powerful, but the goal
of Aikido is to seek peace in the face of conflict.
Ki (pronounced key). A definition for Ki, in English, could never really
encompass its whole meaning. In Aikido its meaning is "unseen force" or
spirit or energy. Training in Aikido cultivates the spirit through discipline and
sacrifice. The training of the spirit is essential to any martial art. The
philosophy of Aikido is that through rigorous training we may be able overcome the
conflict within ourselves. Once at peace, we will be able to harmonize with any
attacking energy regardless of its verbal, physical, or emotional energy.
Do (pronounced dough). Do means path or way. Aikido is not a sport. A 'Do' is
not a sport. Aikido instead is a Budo. The training of Aikido does not involved
comparing yourself with others to see who is the best. Instead students trains to
improve themselves as human beings. O-Sensei, the
founder of Aikido, said that "Aikido is not for correcting others but for correcting
your own mind." Mentioned earlier, Aikido is not a sport -- there are no
competitions (some styles do compete, but the founder was specifically against this).
Competition is about winning. Period. Winning at someone else's expense
is really losing. In Aikido students improve themselves through rigorous
training and working with other students who are better and more experienced.