Aikido - A Spiritual Art

The Aikido is not meant to be a life threateningWhen Ueshiba was young his father was killed and
art form. The skill set and techniques that onehe vowed to avenge his death. He began to
learns are smooth and controlled. The definition ofstudy various martial arts and became well
Aikido is 'joining the way of the spirit'. Joining is 'Ai"versed in them all. There are stages and awards
Spirit is 'ki' and Way is 'do'. The creators name isprovided and he is well trained in all aspects of
Morihei Ueshiba.various spiritual arts.
Warriors that learned the skill of Aikido usedFeeling somewhat empty still even with his
methods to not hurt or maim their counterpart,extended knowledge, he met Onisaburo
but rather subdue them. The skills taught wereDeguchiof. Deguchiof was a spiritual leader that
that of slight, ways to confuse your enemy ortaught Ueshiba his way.
opponent were many. The art is truly one of theUeshiba soon realized that using his spiritual
most peaceful and calm as compared to otherstrength on top of his skills of martial arts he
spiritual art forms.could form his own particular art from, which he
The 'Great Teacher' also known as Osenset wasdid and called it Aikido.
Ueshiba, he formed Aikido using the direction ofThere are many martial art forms that you can
Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu. Weapons of choice we thelearn. Most cities offer various types of martial art
yari (spear),a bayonet type weapon called a jukenclasses. Some have actual schools that teach
and a ¼ bowstaff called a Jo. It is important toKarate, Judo, Kung-Fu, and many more. If you
note that while those trained in Aikido can useare interested in the spiritual martial art form of
weapons exceptionally well, they are just asAikido, you may have to do a bit of research in
dangerous when empty handed.your area to find an instructor. Good luck.