History of Aikido
What
are the origins of Aikido?
An
internationally renown martial artist, Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969)
founded Aikido after years of studying and mastering various martial
arts including jujutsu, judo, kenjutsu and the spear. Master
Ueshiba (referred to as O'Sensei-or Great Teacher) concluded that the
true spirit of budo(literally the "way" or spirit of the warrior) 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 mind and body, through cumulative
training and practice with kindred spirits in the martial arts.
It was evident to O'Sensei that today's victor will be
defeated
tomorrow, that the strong man will ultimately meet someone stronger and
that pursuit of brute force must end in frustration. And no
matter how fast one may be, there are limitations to physical
capabilities. Master Ueshiba set about to combine the many
arts
he had studied into one unified martial art that anyone, regardless of
age, size or sex, could learn if desired. Aikido was being
developed and refined by Master Ueshiba right up until his death in
1969.
The principles of Aikido allowed a seemingly frail old man to
easily throw and pin any number of strong young men.
Links
for historical perspectives