About Aikido

Aikido is essentially a modern manifestation of the Japanese martial arts (budo). It is orthodox in that it inherits the spiritual and martial tradition of ancient Japan, first recorded in the eighth-century literary and historical works, Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihongi (Chronicle of Japan). This does not mean that aikido blindly carries on the tradition of the ancient martial arts, merely preserving and maintain its original form in the modern world.

The ancient fighting arts are a historical and cultural legacy, originating on the battlefield in periods of civil strife and later formalized as budo, the Way of martial arts, in the Tokugawa period (1603-1868). They need to be properly assessed and appreciated. In their original form they are unacceptable to people today and are out of place in the modern world, which in the case of Japan begins with the Meiji Restoration (1868).

The founder of Aikido, Master Uyeshiba Morihei (pictured above), was born on December 14, 1883. Living in the turbulent time of Japan's modernization, he dedicated himself to establishing a martial art that would meet the needs of contemporary people but would not be an anachronism. The following factors were at the core of Master Uyeshiba's primary concerns: an abiding love for traditional martial arts, the care that it not be misunderstood and a deep wish to revive the spiritual quality of budo. He sought to achieve his goal through a relentless quest, given substance by constant training in the martial arts, for the truth of budo throughout the vicissitudes of modern Japanese history.

Ultimately, Master Uyeshiba concluded that the true spirit of budo is not to be found in a competitive and combative atmosphere where brute strength dominates and victory at any cost is the paramount objective. He concluded that it is to be realized in the quest for perfection as a human being, both in the mind and body, through cumulative training and practice with kindred spirits in the martial arts. For him only such a true manifestation of budo can have a raison d'etre in modern world, and when that quality exists, it lies behond any particular culture or age. His goal deeply religious in nature, is summarized in a single statement: the unification of the fundamental creative principle, ki, permeating the universe, and the individual Ki, inseparable from breath power, of each person. Through constant training of mind and body, the individual ki harmonizes with universal ki, and this unity appears in the dynamic, flowing movement of ki-power which is free and fluid, indestructible and invincible. This is the essence of Japanese martial arts as embodied in Aikido.

The Spirit of Aikido, Kisshomaru Uyeshiba, pp 14-15.

Return to Top of Page