Janika Love
Eisman
Self Defense
3 Feb. 2015
Aikido
The beginnings of the particular fighting style, Aikido, can be traced back to the founder, a man named Morihei Ueshiba, born in 1883 in Japan. He grew up in a place where his father was beaten by thugs and attacked for his political beliefs, and so he set out to make himself strong, dedicating everything he had to vigorous physical training before transitioning into martial arts. He was awarded several certificates of mastery, such as jujitsu, fencing, and spear fighting, for his efforts. Even with being an accomplished man, he somehow felt dissatisfied and searched for a deeper meaning of life through his religious beliefs and ideologies. He created the martial art, Aikido, known previously as ‘aikibudo’ or ‘aikinomichi’(“History of Aikido” 1).
When Aikido was given an introduction to the world, it was by a man named Minoru Mochizuki, first revealing the art to Judo students in France. The art was then brought to Japan in 1960, then later in 1975, brought to the states by a man named Mitsugi Saotome, a former student of O’Sensei in 1955 who taught at the World Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo (“History and Philosophy” 1).
The martial art Aikido is comprised of several other styles of jujistsu, particularly daitoryu jujitsu. The style of fighting, simply put, is joint locks and throws from jujitsu with the movements of sword and spear fighting, which resulted from the modifications by Ueshiba (also referred to as ‘O’ Sensei’), himself (“History and Philosophy” 1).
When it came to religion, Ueshiba devoted himself to Omotokyo, or ‘new religions.’ the goal being to unify all of humanity singularly or to create ‘heavenly kingdom on earth’ (“History of Aikido” 1). This united all religions under the Omotokyo banner, though there is no unified philosophy of Aikido, no matter what is thought. Instead, there is a collection of religious, ethical, and metaphysical beliefs shared by others.
Examples of Aikido philosophies and beliefs include "Aikido is not a way to fight with or defeat enemies; it is a way to reconcile the world and make all human beings one family," "The secret of Aikido is to become one with the universe," and "The body is the concrete unification of the physical and spiritual created by the universe." Most people who practice this art have
