Kerala Aikido Association

inner strength are all promoted. The founder, Ueshiba Morihei O Sensei, immersed himself in the Japanese martial arts, in Shinto and in philosophy during his entire life. For him, Budo (the way of the martial arts) meant more than learning techniques of self-defence. He considered Budo a spiritual way of life, a path to peace, inner balance and communion with nature. After years of training, study and meditation, he developed his own original method and called it Aikido:
AI; encountering, coming together, uniting, harmony, love. KI; vitality, inner energy, spirit - an essential part of oriental culture which one encounters in philosophy, medicine, art, physical training, religion, etc. The full meaning of this becomes clear through one's own experiences. DO; tao, way, path, in the sense of the pathway of life, the natural way. In its universality Aikido can be compared to yoga or T'ai chi chuan. But it is actually more multifaceted and especially more dynamic by nature. The aikidoka learns to offer no resistance, but to make one's self flexible and to continually adapt. The grips and throws are performed flowingly and circularly in aesthetic and dancelike movements. This creates a unity between the two aikidoka, instead of a "fight." In spite of (or perhaps thanks to) the nonviolent character of the training method, Aikido is an extremely effective method of self-defence (because of this, Aikido is part of the basic training for Japanese police, among other things. Through the years Aikido has had an inspirational influence on other martial arts forms, on self-defence methods, and also on disciplines such as dance and theater arts. Today Aikido is practiced by more than a million enthusiastic students. Aikido can fascinate for a whole life long: "Aikido is as wide as nature; the farther one progresses on the path, the farther one is able to see ahead," stated the founder Ueshiba Morihei, who at age 86 was still teaching in an impressive manner.