AIKIDO

Mary Nugent Delchamps

Relaxation, flexibility, tranquility, and moderation are the goals of a philosophy recently imported from Japan. Aikido is a combination of .physical and mental disciplines teaching that the problems of life should be looked upon, not as evils to be overcome, but as random circumstances awaiting direction. This idealism may seem dficu1t to follow, especially when embodied in an activity that may appear physically violent to the uninitiated
The fastest growing of the newer martial arts, Aikido has been taught in the United States for less than twenty years, but is rapidly achieving popularity equal to the related Japanese arts of Judo and Karate-do.
Aikido (translated as the way to union with the energy of the Universe) is a weaponless skill developed mainly from the movements of the Japanese sword. Many of the defensive movements’ imitate the drawing and cutting strategies of the sword. Other movements employ ancient techniques of twisting muscles and applying pressure to nerve centers to control the attacker.
Movements in Aikido are circular. The practitioner does not attempt to block an attack, but waits until the attacker is committed to his action. The defender then takes the momentum of the attack and moves it slightly, the attacker loses balance, thus control of the situation. It takes no strength to help a falling man reach the floor, and a little knowledge will keep him there.
The attackers intent is anticipated before his motion begins, and his intended victim moves with the attack even before its first visible signs. Bodies and spirits are blended as attacker and defender merge into one whirl of motion. The untrained eye cannot discern which is the aggressor until his body flies helplessly from the spinning flurry.
The composure of the intended victim appears unchanged from his manner before the incident; relaxed but alert. The would be attacker is surprised, usually suffering’ more from a blow to his ego than from any corporal injuries, and wonders how he lost control in what had promised to be an easy victory.
Practitioners of Aikido proudly call attention to the fact that Aikido, unlike other martial arts, does not rely en aggressive techniques, such as punches or kicks; this has caused Aikido to become known as the non-violent martial art. As a relaxed method of action, application of Aikido principles in everyday life can he more frequently useful than successfully defending against an attack.
The focal point of Aikido is controlled and balanced movement The philosophy and training used to develop the necessary
techniques can be traced back to the earliest writings of eastern culture. Asian civilizations have long been concerned with the interaction of mind and body. Before Buddhism was founded, meditation techniques and yogic exercises were studied and refined in India to help the serious student achieve an inner feeling of unity with himself and the Universe. Many of these rituals were incorporated in the development of Buddhism, and even mingled with Taoism when Buddhism migrated to China.
The Japanese royalty, during the Heian period (about 750 t. 950 AD), embraced almost everything Chinese, including Buddhism, and with it, the meditation techniques and special exercises associated with the attainment of re1igitus ecstasy.
At first the Samurai, the warrior class of Japan, remained aloof from the court-oriented Chinese culture, but later selected those portions they found useful in the development of an ethical system which would suit their needs. Meditation techniques and yogic exercises, more or 1ess divorced from their underlying religious foundations, were the most quickly adapted items. These techniques were refined and a new Samurai-oriented system was outlined.
Instead of helping a person achieve a religious experience, the meditations and exercises were used to provide the trainee with two different but subtly interrelated skills; an ability to wipe the mind clear of all emotions in order to concentrate on a single action, and the development of a basic set of techniques to use in the learning of new skills. These two approaches provided the ideal foundation for the learning of all martial arts, and were subsequently extended to the study of weaponless arts.
Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, was the code of ethics by which each Samurai trained himself to achieve a stoic attitude and live in daily readiness for the death he would inevitably meet on the battlefield. An abrupt change in government, change the feudal period, ended this way of life.
The Samurai class was officially abolished in 1876, and there was no longer any need for the martial skills of the ex-Samurai, most of who traced with pride many generations of warrior ancestors who had died in the battlefields of a country torn by civil strife for a thousand years. Many of these professional soldiers continued to practice the ideals of Bushido however, but began to focus more on the aesthetic values by perfection of form. With the advent of modern civilization in Japan, the weaponless arts gained popularity.
Previously, hand-to-hand combat was studied only cursorily but when the carrying of weapons was outlawed, grappling (Jujutsu) and boxing (Karate) became new channels for the rigorous training program of the professional fighter.
Early in the twentieth century, the study of new forms of old fighting arts (such as Kendo, the art of the Sword) was encouraged to increase national pride and heighten the sense of heritage in a people swept away with a fascination of the inventions of the industrialized world to the west.
A few of these students found the study of Aikijutsu (the precursor of Aikido) to be a very spiritual experience. They developed philosophies and training programs, from tie older philosophies of Bushido, designed to bring the student in closer union with the natural order of things.
Morihei Uyeshiba, as the father of modern Aikido, is the most well known of those who developed the study of Aikijutsu. Through his and other’s efforts, the spirit blending attitude coupled with the old Aiki strategies came to be called Aikido. The change from Jutsu ( science) to Do (Way: same as Chinese Tao) suggests that the way to spiritual enlightenment can be found through the study of Aiki, brings hundreds of years of technical refinement full circle to the religious experience first sought in India.
Aikido draws heavily on the Bushido tradition of mental and physical training. Training in meditation helps the student keep a clear arid relaxed mind while giving total attention to the immediate situation, while special limbering exercises ensure balanced, smooth response. Together, these studies help the student develop the control and balance which are the essence of Aikido.
Today thousands of students in all parts of the world study the programs developed by Uyeshiba and others of this attitude. The reasons they give are as diverse as the students themselves. Balance, poise, self-confidence, improved health, and a non-violent solution to the problem of self-defense are some of the most frequently cited benefits of study.
Most students will agree, however, that through Aikido they have found a way to be able to face the modern world and all of its complexities with a relaxed attitude, and are willing to work toward making the world a better place to live, starting with themselves.

Bujin vol 1, No. 1 Nov 1977