Aikido

Aikido (合気道 aikidō) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba after 1945 as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as « the Way of unifying (with) life energy » or as « the Way of the harmonious spirit ». Ueshiba’s goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. This leads to the use of « soft strength » such as the one of a carriage conductor leading his horses. The techniques are completed with the five standard finals: thrust, throw, immobilization, joint lock, choke.

Aikido derives mainly from the martial art of Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, but began to diverge from it in the late 1920’s, partly due to Ueshiba’s involvement with the Ōmoto-kyō religion. Ueshiba’s early students’ documents bear the term aiki-jūjutsu (energy blending soft techniques). Many of Ueshiba’s senior students have different approaches to aikido, depending on when they studied with him and how Ueshiba himself chose to teach each of them. Today aikido is found all over the world in a number of styles, with broad ranges of interpretation and emphasis. However, they all share techniques learned from Ueshiba and most have concern for the well-being of the attacker.

Our school follows the teachings of Maruyama Sensei, a direct student of Ueshiba Sensei, founder of Aikido.