What is the definition of Aikido?
Aikido is a Japanese martial art that is based around movement and using your opponent’s momentum to help defeat them. Unlike other martial arts, it focuses on not harming your opponent unless you absolutely have to. In this sense, you could argue that Aikido is fairly unique with regards to combat.
However, like many other traditional martial arts – Aikido is not alone in that it is as much about spiritual growth as it is physical. In brief, the creation of Aikido was about becoming peaceful within yourself. With this in mind, it’s not too difficult to understand why Aikido isn’t massively aggressive, either to others or with yourself. For those wondering, we will be focusing on the literal translation in this article, as opposed to what is usually taught in a typical Aikido school.
The literal meaning of Aikido
Aikido is a Japanese term that translates into two similar meanings. Firstly, we shall look at the one translation which reads “the way of unifying with life energy”. As a lot of Aikido is based around fluid movements, this makes sense. For example, if an attacker lunges at you, you should combine with their energy to move in unison with them. By doing this, you are combining both energies to remove the threat and defend yourself. A literal example would be deflecting a lunge into a foot trip. Basically, from a physical perspective you are using the energy that surrounds you to remove yourself from danger.
On a spiritual level, unifying with life energy can be seen as linking with the positive energies found in life. As the idea of Aikido is to help improve your spirituality, this makes perfect sense. In brief, you should look to improve your beliefs by Aikido and become a more calm, rational person. This can be done by the lessons taught in Aikido which explore traits such as discipline and humility. A different way of explaining this could be by looking at the opposite.
If you embrace the negative energies of life hen you may turn into a rude, arrogant, and physically dangerous person. These are the ideas that Aikido fights against and argues that people improve through spiritual growth and positivity.
The second translation is “the way of harmonious spirit”. Again, the same principles apply here. On a physical level, you should be at one with the physicality of Aikido training. On the mental side of things, you should be in harmony with your inner spirit which aids a strong belief system and tough mental character.
For those wanting to learn more about what is actually taught in Aikido, you can find out more here. In short, it is based on self-defense and combines Japanese Ju Jitsu practices with sword fighting techniques from feudal Japan. If you feel that this sounds like something you may enjoy, check out your local Aikido dojo – there are usually lots in an average city.
