OSENSEI

What is Aikido?

"Ai" - Harmony, unity, or to join, "Ki" - Lifeforce of universal
creative energy, "Do" - The way.

Aikido is a unique martial art based on universal principals of
movement and harmony. Students of Aikido learn graceful and
powerful martial techniques that use the force of the opponent
rather than brute strength. Practice is thus accessible to people of
all ages and abilities.

Students learn to focus their attention in the moment to maintain
an open, flexible mind. There are no competitions: ego and the
desire to "best an opponent" are left behind. Training in Aikido
promotes a calm, centered spirit which remains balanced in
situations, both on and off the mat.

The movement of Aikido is the dynamic movement of the universal
energy forces. The power of Aikido is the power of a strong and
unified spirit, mind, and body moving in harmony with everything
around it. Its origin is Budo. Its development is the result of two
thousand years of a cultural process of change and refinement, a
continuing martial contest of natural selection. It is an evolution
etched in blood.

The study of Budo and the development of Aikido was the life work
of Morihei Ueshiba, a figure of great renown who travelled the
length of Japan studying under the greatest masters of many arts.
Hard work, severe discipline, and all the money he could earn
were poured into his mastery of the sword, the spear, and the arts
of self defense. Deeply interested in the study of spiritual thought,
he had also practised many different spiritual disciplines. Yet he
was unable to unite his spiritual beliefs with his physical
acomplishments.

A short time after returning from the Russo-Japanese War, he
retired to a small house located on a mountain outside his village.
There he lived and studied silently; his days spent training his body
and his nights spent in deep prayer. It was at the end of this time of
severe training that he had the realization he had been seeking all
his life. At that moment, nature's process became clear and he
knew that the source of Budo is the spirit of protection of all
things.

Aikido is a relatively new martial art founded by
Master Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). As a youth,
Ueshiba Sensei, or O-Sensei (Great Teacher) as
he was called, applied himself to many arduous
years of training in the Japanese martial arts. He
mastered jiu-jitsu, the use of the spear, the staff
and the sword. O-Sensei also studied deeply in
Zen Buddhism and Shinto. Although he was
exceptionally accomplished in the martial arts, he
grew troubled by the conviction that winning at
the expense of the defeated could not be a true
victory. He came to believe that true martial skill is
not the ability to defeat others, but to defeat the
foundations of discord within oneself. Though he
was already an acknowledged master of
numerous arts, he began to practice movements
and explore them deeply, searching mentally, and
sitting for long hours in meditation.