Aikido History

The word Aikido is formed of three Japanese characters, 合気道, ai, ki and do, meaning literally harmony, energy and way, so Aikido can be translated as “the path to harmonious energies”. Aikido is not a conventional fighting art. Rather, it is an art of defense, one that stresses learning to make harmony with opposing forces instead of combating them. It is a way of uniting body and mind to defend the self through non-resistance. Aikido’s techniques are meant to control an attacker by blending with its movement and redirecting its energy instead of blocking it. This aspect of Aikido – its defensive rather than offensive approach to aggression – makes it a unique and powerful art. Ueshiba Morihei the founder referred to his creation as the ‘The Art of Peace’.