What is Aikido?

Morihei Ueshiba (pronounced oo-eh-shiba) created Aikido as to be a new system of budo (the way of the warrior).

The name Aikido means the way (do) of harmonising (ai) the spirit (ki) . Ueshiba was born in Japan at a time when martial arts were still taught by the masters of the old tradition. He studied with many of these old masters, where he learned his swordsmanship and various unarmed forms of self defence. As his studies progressed he found himself growing into a deeply religious person. Which led him to envisage this new form of budo that would provide a basis for both spiritual and physical growth for any who wished to learn Aikido.

In Aikido we think of the word ki to mean the creative life spirit or force of the universe and ones own life-energy. Ueshiba wrote that true budo is the way of great harmony and love for all beings and with these words you can see that he meant Aikido to be far more than just a method for self defence. “I want considerate people to listen to the voice of Aikido, it is not for correcting other but for correcting your own mind."