Aikido
What it is, where it comes from, and how it is practised here.
The art
Aikido is a non-competitive Japanese martial art developed in the early twentieth century by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). It draws on other traditional Japanese martial arts, principally Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, and uses supple, natural and highly effective movement to evade, redirect or neutralise an attack using the opponent's own force.
Practice is demanding physical training built on repetition, keeping a balance between left and right and alternating between performing a technique and receiving it. Aikido is not only good for your health; it builds self-confidence that carries naturally into daily life.
You can begin at any time, whatever your age or physical condition, men and women, adults and children alike.
A class from the inside
One hour, and almost always the same shape. It starts and ends seated, and in between there is a great deal of repetition.
- The bow. In seiza, to the front of the dojo and between the instructor and the group.
- Warm-up. Wrists, shoulders and hips. The wrists get a lot of attention, because a lot of the techniques work on them.
- Ukemi. Falling backwards, forwards, rolling. It is half of aikido and the first thing a newcomer learns.
- Technique. The instructor shows it two or three times, then you work in pairs, swapping who does it and who receives it, and changing partner several times.
- Kokyū hō. A seated breathing exercise that closes the session.
- Bow, then cleaning. Five minutes, everybody.
The weapons
A non-competitive art studies weapons for a specific reason: aikido comes out of swordwork, and a lot of empty-hand movement makes more sense once you have done it holding a bokken. All three are wooden, and never bladed.
木刀
bokken
The wooden sword. The shōmen and yokomen strikes come from it, and they are half the syllabus.
杖
jō
The staff, a little over a metre. It teaches distance, and working with the hands apart.
短刀
tantō
The knife. Used for disarming techniques, always slowly and always with your partner warned.
Grades and examinations
Kyu grades are examined by the dojo. Dan grades are presented and registered with the Aikikai Foundation in Tokyo, which recognises them internationally through the International Aikido Federation.
There is no fixed date for taking one: you are put forward when the instructor thinks the work is done. Each examination has a specific syllabus of attacks and techniques, and a minimum number of practice days since the previous grade. Preparation classes run before every session, open to anyone who is going to be examined.
A short history
Morihei Ueshiba was born in Tanabe in 1883 and studied several traditional schools before meeting Sokaku Takeda's Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu, which became the technical basis of everything that followed. In the 1930s he opened the Tokyo dojo that would come to be called the Aikikai Hombu Dojo, and gradually moved the art away from pure martial efficiency towards the idea that gives it its name: joining the other person's force rather than colliding with it.
After the Second World War, once the occupation lifted the ban on martial arts, his students began teaching outside Japan. It reached Europe in the 1950s and 60s and Spain in the 70s. Today the Aikikai Foundation, headed by the founder's grandson, coordinates the recognition of grades worldwide through the International Aikido Federation.