Everyone has the power to choose between life and death. It's up to each person to decide whether to slow down when people are crossing the street or to pull the trigger when duck hunting.
Some people in society, unfortunately, will do bad things to get money instead of working for it. The person can become a victim when walking to their car after shopping or when getting home late from work.
The police might not always be around to help, so it's best to always be ready. Learning a martial art is one way to be ready for anything. The person doesn't have to be as good as Bruce Lee to kick butt. All they have to do is learn what makes a good punch.
Aikido is a popular martial art that is also very peaceful. This is because when people fight, they don't hit their opponent with the goal of hurting or killing them. The goal is just to take down the opponent with as little force as possible so you can get to safety.
There are many places in the country called Dojos that teach aikido. The person can join one of them and then move up.
First-timers will work with techniques that are based on a square. As the person gets better, they will move from square to triangle and then to circle. This will take months, so the student needs to be dedicated the whole time.
The goal is for the person to be able to do the different techniques with less effort than they did before. This will give the person enough energy to fight if they are facing more than one enemy.
The holds, grips, and falls done in practise can never be compared to what happens on the streets. This is because someone who hasn't done it before might try something new, so the person should be ready for anything.
Still, it's good that there are often competitions where people can show off their fighting skills. The student can sign up, especially if the dojo often takes part in tournaments like this.
When practising or competing, the person should slow down so they don't hurt their partner. After all, the real fight is in the streets, so fighting in the courts should be a last resort.
There could even come a time when the person attacking is also good at martial arts. The only way to win is to use your mind, because that will let you act faster when you're in a fight.
In aikido, there are many secrets. This can be based on how well your hands and eyes work together, how flexible your wrist is, how well you breathe, and how fast you move. All of these things will be important when the person is in battle and fighting for his or her life.
"No pain, no gain," as the saying goes. This is a bad thing that will have to happen if you want to get good at aikido, since the person with the competitive edge will always win. As long as he or she follows the advice of senior students and the Sensei and has faith in himself or herself, the person can do well in any fight.
