About Aikido

There is something about Aikido…

The movements are graceful, flowing, effortless and powerful, but there is more to it than that. There is great beauty in the way the movements of Aikido, even down to their smallest components, are an articulate expression of joy, gratitude, hope and unconditional love.

In fact if we look deeply, we can see that those feelings, and indeed a whole philosophy of life, are contained in its movements like a mass of coded messages.

It is this intimate connection between the actions and the thoughts behind them, that makes Aikido such a wonderful opportunity for life-enhancing practice.

To someone watching Aikido for the first time this might not be so obvious. They might simply see one person attacking another and subsequently being thrown and subdued.

If they set out only to learn how to do this, taking the most logical and direct route, they would study how to move their hands, feet and bodies in order to avoid attacks, throw someone down and subdue them. It is likely they would learn to avoid attacks using speed, throw opponents down using force and subdue them using pain.

Without realising it they would simply be practicing relationships of force and resistance, a form of fighting, and this would not be Aikido.

A little help from a good teacher would give them greater potential. It would give them another choice, an opportunity to look beyond this and choose to practice something far more gentle, positive and powerful.

It would enable them to see their opponent as a partner, see the attack as a gift and use rapport to neutralise it, without inflicting pain. This is possible with Aikido, and it is also possible to apply the same skill in daily life to eliminate stress and strife and to make better connections with the people in our lives.

Aikido was and is a revolutionary concept, and not just in the Martial Arts! It offers a practical alternative in life to the choice between force and resistance, conflict and capitulation.

So, the next time you feel forced to choose between fighting back or giving in, struggling on or giving up, remember, there is another alternative: Aikido.

Denis Burke Sensei