As East and West cultures come closer together, more and more people are finding and rediscovering new ways to discipline themselves, especially in the field of martial arts. Aikido, a popular Japanese martial art, is one of these ways.
KNOWING AIKIDO
The most important rule of Aikido is "Don't fight force with force." Aikido has become popular because it is one of the non-aggressive styles of martial arts. It doesn't start fights or make people angry. Instead, the attacker's strength is turned into throws, locks, and other ways to hold someone down.
Since there aren't many punches and kicks in aikido, the size, weight, age, and strength of the participants or opponents don't matter much. What matters is that a skilled Aikido practitioner knows how to redirect the energy of his or her attacker while keeping him or her off balance.
Morihei Ueshiba found and developed the aikido principle, which is the foundation of Aikido as a martial art. Ueshiba, who was known as "O Sensei" or the "Great Teacher," made sure to create a martial art that is based on physical movements like throws, joint locks, and techniques from other martial arts like "Jujitsu" and "Kenjutsu."
Technically, aikido came from and mostly grew out of "daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu," which uses training moves similar to those for the "yari" or "spear," the "jo" or "short quarterstaff," and the "juken" or "bayonet." Even though these jujitsu moves are common in the martial art, many practitioners agree that kenjutsu is the style that has had the most impact on aikido.
When Ueshiba finally came up with the minor and major principles of Aikido, he emphasised that the martial art isn't just about self-defense, but that it can also have a big impact on the practitioner's moral and spiritual development, which will lead them to put more emphasis on developing and achieving peace and harmony. In fact, experienced aikido practitioners say that "the way of harmony of the spirit" is one way to describe or translate the word "aikido" into English. This is because aikido puts a lot of emphasis on developing harmony and peace.
As with any other martial art, aikido has different techniques. These include ikkyo, which means "first technique," nikyo, which means "second technique," sankyo, which means "third technique," yonkyo, which means "fourth technique," gokyo, which means "fifth technique," shihonage, which means "four-direction throw," kotegaeshi, which means "wrist return," kokyunage"
Even though you don't punch or kick your opponent in aikido, it is not considered a static art. Still, aikido is a very effective form of martial arts because it requires the person practising it to use their opponent's energy to take control of them. When you look at the martial art more closely, you'll see that aikido is more than just a way to defend yourself. It can also be used for spiritual enlightenment, physical health or exercise, or just as a way to find peace of mind, concentration, and serenity.
Even though different styles of aikido put more or less emphasis on the spiritual aspects, the basic idea of the martial art is that it was created to bring about peace and harmony.
