Aikido – Harmonizing Our Life Energy

Aikido literally translates to ‘the way of unification with life energy’ and was developed by Morihei Ueshiba, who is believed to have said that whenever he moves, it is Aikido.

Aikido is a very popular example of what is referred to as a soft martial art. In other words, the practitioner doesn’t throw punches and kicks with force on the opponent, but rather chooses to use his or her opponent’s force and strength against them. That is one of the reasons why Aikido is extremely effective and allows a skilled practitioner to blunt the advantage of size or strength of the opponent.

It is also interesting to note that Aikido doesn’t have inherent styles of its own and the styles that are practiced in the modern day came about when students of O Sensei interpreted the art in their own way and then spread the knowledge across.

Aikido is a martial art that emphasizes a lot on physical and mental harmony and is a classic example of a martial art that is used for attaining spiritual insight. In other words, Aikido represents the culmination of both self defense techniques and a way of achieving peace of mind and spirit. The roots of Aikido lie in two other martial art forms called Jujitsu and Kenjutsu.

It was considered to be a liberal art form which could be interpreted by the practitioners in a way that suits them the best. The old school of Aikido which was taught by O Sensei was known as Aiki Budo. Other popular old schools include Yoseikan, which was a form developed by one of O Sensei’s students.

Amongst the traditional schools one of the more popular ones is Aikikai, which was headed by Ueshiba, who was none other than the grandson of O Sensei. Aikido involves both physical and mental conditioning, much like most other martial art forms.

However, Aikido differs from some of the other martial arts in that there is more emphasis on relaxing, flexibility and tolerance as opposed to building up strength. Also, many Aikido techniques bear resemblance with yoga in that one tends to use the entire body movement in a smooth flowing way rather than toning or strengthening very specific muscles or parts of the body. Coordination is of greater importance in Aikido which uses pushing techniques more as opposed to pulling methods.

Aikido training comprises of two very important aspects, that of uke and the nage. In other words, the technique of the receiver is important along with the technique of the opponent. So, one has to focus on both, initiating the technique and also neutralizing it. As a result, one learning Aikido not only picks up how to harness the attacking energy but also to stay flexible in the most off balanced positions while under an attack.

Although different from core philosophies there are schools derived from original Aikido that have rationalized the training to make it more competitive and to also allow for better physical conditioning to actually resist a stronger attack.