“Aikido is non-competitive. That’s easy to say. The practice is not about defeating an opponent, but about both participants being victorious by finding a truly peaceful solution and growing as human beings in the process. That, too, is easy to say.
Still, there’s a lot of competing going on in aikido. Numerous aikido students hurry along the way in an effort to surpass their fellow trainees, in skills as well as grades, eager to take a teaching role when working with whatever partner, reluctant to learn as equals.”
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“In Japanese martial arts, the term atemi (当て身?) designates blows to the body, [1] as opposed to twisting of joints, strangleholds, holding techniques and throws. Atemi can be delivered by any part of the body to any part of the opponents body. They can be percussive or use ‘soft’ power. Karate is a typical martial art focusing on percussive atemi. The location of nerve and pressure points, such as might be used for certain acupressure methods, also often informs the choice of targets for atemi (see kyusho-jitsu).
“The history of aikido had not been systematically recorded. In 1977, the second Doshu, Kisshomaru Ueshiba Sensei, published the founder’s biography which is the first extensive biography of his father. But, certain very important areas were not really dealt with in-depth and certain people who had fallen out of favor with the Aikikai were neglected or not even mentioned. I don’t think it was something I could call a “balanced” biography although the book really is essential for anyone interested in the history of aikido.
Ellis Amdur’s new book will be released in mid-July. Ellis is offering 250 prepublication sales, which will be signed and numbered. Please go to his website at 
“What is Aikido? One could simply say that all Aikido, regardless of style, has a certain basic set of techniques and movement principles which make the art “Aikido” as distinct from aikijutsu or jiujutsu or any other martial art. But, as any person who has trained widely in the Aikido community can tell you, there is such a wide range of interpretation with regard to how these techniques are practiced and executed that the surface similarities get outweighed by these inherent differences.
“If you can deeply and profoundly accept that your body is by its nature completely connected, you are able to keep your joints free which facilitate good aikido. Some of this acceptance comes from exploring the physical nature of one’s joints – understanding the ligaments, tendons and muscles, and their relationship to range of movement. By allowing your arms and legs to simply be, and driving movement from your core we are able to produce force without the sensation of doing so. This can be disconcerting, especially from the standpoint of living in a society where success is synonymous with putting in hard long effort at work, and study.
Ukemi and nagewaza are not two separate entities but part of one attribute, one energy, one flow.
“When I arrived in Fredericksburg in 2001, there were four core students in the club. The Club was subleasing from a jujitsu club that had subleased from a karate school. As the class grew we began to look around for alternative space and the moving decision was accelerated by an eviction of the jujitsu club! We trained for a while at a gymnastics school until we leased our own 48-mat space in 2002 where we now have 14 classes per week. Aikido in Fredericksburg was organized in 2004 as a non-profit educational corporation.
“Yoga instructor Bette Calman may be 83, but she’s still bending over backwards to spread the benefits of the ancient Indian discipline.
“If you are too eager to throw you will meet your opponent’s resistance like a brick wall and discover that your own centre is lacking. Make sure that throughout the technique your weight presses strongly into your feet, and that you are standing independently. The beginner aikidoka will often find themselves too keen to throw and end up leaning on their uke. With their balance so compromised the power that can be generated is greatly reduced.
“When people think of meditation they usually imagine doing ‘something’ called meditation. Following a set of rules for meditation, sitting in a certain way or place, perhaps with no noise or only gentle music. The truth is, however, to truly cultivate a meditative experience, you just have to be aware of what is happening in this moment.
“Generally speaking one can say that Aikido doesn’t include the “jujutsu” type of techniques of Aikijujutsu concentrating more in what is called the “aiki no jutsu” part of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, or techniques that emphasize in the timing, and syncronization of mind and body with the opponent’s attack (Obviously both require proper breathing). However Aikido was influenced by other schools in addition to Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu.”