Martial Arts Styles – Aikido
Aikido in its present form is a pretty new creation within the martial arts tradition. Aikido was created in Japan in the beginning of the twentieth century and is attributed to Morihei Ueshiba. Ueshiba was introduced to the classical martial arts as a child by his father Yoroku. He is known to have studied a variety of martial arts , 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 style that had began in the sixth century and had been passed down through the military hierarchy and built upon 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 learned from him until 1919.
On returning to his home of Tanabe because of the death of his father, Morihei met the charismatic founder of an esoteric belief called Omoto-Kyo – and spent the next 6 years as a disciple, traveling throughout Asia. In 1927, Morihei created the Kobukan school in Tokyo Japan and started teaching an amalgam of the martial arts he had learned from his studies Takeda, combined with the knowledge he had acquired from Omoto-Kyo.
This new style he called Ueshiba-aiko-bugo. Morihei in time picked the name aikido. This word is a combination of three ideas: Ai meaning harmony, Ki: meaning spirit and Do: meaning way. As with many other styles, aikido is seen not only as a system of self defense, but also as a means of self-cultivation and advancement. Presently there are diverse systems of aikido, but traditional aikido has no tournaments, competitions or contests. Physical strength is not necessary, so age is no impediment. According to its founder, the goal of aikido is not the overcoming of others, but the overcoming of the negative characteristics that inhabit one’s own mind and prevent its effective functioning.
Aikido is a style that looks not to meet violence with violence, but instead looks towards harmonizing with and restraining an opponent. Aikido is, in many ways, unique among the martial disciplines, in that the majority of techniques are dependent on the enemy making the first move. Therefore, aikido techniques are usually aimed at joint immobilization, and throws which utilize an opponent’s energy, momentum and aggression against them. Many body movements have been taken from Japanese sword and spear fighting disciplines. This is the basic logic and underlying philosophy of aikido. Martial arts supplies (the bokken and the jo) are used in aikido to teach harmony of movement. Aikido practicioners train in a uniform that resembles today’s well-known karate uniform.
In accordance with directive from hombu (headquarters) in Japan, adult students do not wear colored belts while training, although the kyu (student) grading system still applies. It is acceptable for children to wear colored belts. The kyu grading system starts at 6th-kyu which necessitates the wearing of a white belt with one red stripe. Children then progress through a number of colored stripes and belts until they reach 1st-kyu. This is the final kyu rank before they are ready to take 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.
People study aikido for assorted reasons: as a way of becoming physically fit, as self defense or to gain knowledge of the Japanese culture. It is up to each individual to choose which facet of the style to focus on. In addition to the building of strength, stamina and suppleness practitioners develop how to tap their inner strength to generate an energy that is far greater than muscular power alone. And to use this power at will. Breath techniques are learned to facilitate mind and body coordination. Disciples also come into contact with other Japanese practices such as shiatsu (finger therapy) a type of total body massage and iaido (Japanese sword drawing). Both of these talents are (in harmony with|complementary to} the study of aikido and are sometimes studied together.