Aikido ("eye-key-doh") is a Japanese martial art, originally developed during the early to mid 20th century by its founder, Morihei Ueshiba. It is a non-violent, defensive art which concentrates on controlling and neutralizing the momentum of an attack. Its main defenses are throws, locks, and pins, utilized against strikes, grabs, and chokes. Most aikido techniques are designed to work equally well against both empty-handed and armed attacks, with minimal alterations. Many techniques are also designed for multiple-attacker scenarios.
Derived from Daito Ryu aikijujutsu, aikido is most closely related to the various jujutsu arts, as well as judo (another modern jujutsu derivative), although it differs from those arts in important respects.
Kokikai Ryu is the style of aikido practiced by our club at Penn State, established by founder and president Shuji Maruyama, an uchideshi (live-in apprentice) of Morihei Ueshiba. (A biographical essay about Maruyama-sensei.)
Kokikai's motto is "minimum effort, maximum effect". It is a practical style, emphasizing a correct, natural state of being, from posture and movement to thinking and attitude. (More about Kokikai.)
The four basic principles of Kokikai aikido are:
Maruyama-sensei operates the Kokikai international headquarters in Nagoya, Japan, and regularly visits the United States for camps and seminars. The U.S. Kokikai headquarters are in Philadelphia.
The word aikido may be loosely translated as "way of the harmonious spirit". Rather than meeting force with force in a confrontation of strength, the practitioner of aikido prefers to avoid direct confrontation and "blend" with an opponent's attack, redirecting and neutralizing it. Some say the ultimate ideal of aikido is to keep the defender safe while leaving the attacker unharmed.
Because of its non-violent philosophy and reliance on unbalancing and redirection over size and strength, aikido is an ideal martial art for women, children, and men of all ages.
Some reasons why people practice aikido:
Aikido offers a wide spectrum of potential responses to a physical confrontation, a "continuum of force" ranging from merely deflecting an attack or breaking a grip, to subduing and restraining an attacker, to throwing them with great (or little) force. This allows a practitioner to choose the response that is most appropriate to the situation at hand. Aikido is also usually designed to allow one to rapidly disengage from the application of a technique or restraint, if desired.
Aikido offers a wide variety of training practices, usually full-contact. These include partner and group practice of specific techniques, single and multiple attacker freestyle defenses against arbitrary or pre-specified attacks (randori), weapons defenses, solo weapons forms (kata), and partner and solo balance and breathing exercises (ki tests).
Come to practice, ask questions, and train! Or, on the Internet, try these links.