Martial Arts Styles – Aikido
Aikido in its current form is a relatively recent creation within the martial arts tradition. Aikido was created in Japan in the early 20th century and is attributed to Morihei Ueshiba. Ueshiba discovered the traditional martial arts as a child by his father Yoroku. He is believed to have studied a variety of martial arts styles, such as ju-jistu as well as ken-jutsu and the art of the spear. In 1912 Morihei relocated to Hokkaido, where a chance meeting with a man named Sokaku Takeda altered his life.
Takeda was a master of daito-ryu-aiki-ju-jitsu, a martial art that had developed in the sixth century and had been passed down through the military and honed by associates of the Aizu clan, gaining the name of Oshi-Kiuchi, or “striking arts.” The young Ueshiba quickly became fascinated by the physical prowess of Takeda and studied under him until 1919.
On returning to his native Tanabe due to the death of his father, Morihei ran into the charismatic founder of an esoteric belief called Omoto-Kyo – and spent the next 6 years as a disciple, wandering through Asia. In 1927, Morihei founded the Kobukan school in Tokyo and commenced teaching an combination of the martial traditions he had learned from his training Takeda, combined with the knowledge he had acquired from Omoto-Kyo.
This new discipline he called Ueshiba-aiko-bugo. Morihei eventually settled on the name aikido. Aikido is a combination of three ideas: Ai meaning harmony, Ki: meaning spirit and Do: meaning way. As with many other martial arts, aikido is seen not only as a system of self defense, but also as a way of self-cultivation and advancement. Nowadays there are many different systems of aikido, but traditional aikido has no tournaments, competitions or contests. Physical strength is not necessary, so age is no hindrance. According to its founder, the goal of aikido is not the overcoming of others, but the defeat of the negative characteristics that occupy one’s own mind and stop its effective functioning.
Since the primary goal of aikido is harmonization, its focus is stopping an adversary with a throw, joint immobilization that will completely incapacitate them. The main thought is that if you are attacked by force and respond with force, a collision of energies happens which results in disharmony, and in that case the most powerful force wins. If, however, you meet that attacking force with an absorbing movement and direct it to the point of imbalance, before using force of your own, you are in effect, preventing disharmony or redressing an imbalance. This is the basic thought and underlying philosophy of aikido. Aikido does uses a variety of martial arts equipment for training. Young aikido practicioners wear a uniform much like the typical karate uniform worn today.
In accordance with decision from hombu (headquarters) in Japan, adult students don’t wear colored belts while training, although the kyu (student) grading system still applies. It is ok for children to wear colored belts. The student grading system starts at 6th-kyu which necessitates the wearing of a white belt with one red stripe. Children then move through a multitude of colored stripes and belts until they reach 1st-kyu. This is the final kyu rank before they are ready to try their black belt test (1st dan). When students pass the examination for their 1st dan (shodan), they are entitled to wear a hakama (a divided pleated skirt). This is considered an honor and the grade is recorded at hombu. Students also receive a membership card, an international yudansha record book and a certificate sighed by the founder’s son, Doshu.
Individuals train in aikido for many different reasons: as a way of becoming physically fit, as self defense or to acquire knowledge of the Japanese culture. It is up to each individual to choose which aspect of the art to pursue. As well as the development of strength, endurance and suppleness students discover how to tap their inner strength to create an energy that is far greater than muscular power alone. And to use this inner strength at will. Deep Breathing techniques are learned to promote mind and body coordination. Practitioners also come into contact with other Japanese practices such as shiatsu (finger therapy) a type of complete body massage and iaido (Japanese sword drawing). Both of these skills are (in harmony with|complementary to} the study of aikido and are sometimes studied in tandem.
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