The history which led to the arrival of Aikido as we now know it, was a long one. Many hundreds of years.
But is there as much of a driving need for the physical survival attributes of the art now as then?
Is the art at risk of becoming a quasi religious cult replete with superstitious beliefs and myths about its history?
What has driven Aikido?
What are the forces that led to its phenomenal popularization following WW2?
Has the advent of Aikido made a difference in the world?
If so for the better or for worse?
Since the death of its Founder, Morihei Ueshiba, has Aikido improved the life of its practitioners and the world in general?
Some find it in their minds to criticize Aikido. Always a good sign. Envy has that tendency. Envy is a sign of success the complacent would like to acquire, but are too lazy to work sufficiently to earn!
What do the critics have to say?
That Aikido does not work in a fight is a myth propagated by some incompetent practitioners. Some of the best security personnel on the planet utilize Aikido daily with immense success in both harm reduction and successful arrests.
That the “philosophy” of Aikido is bogus? Which “philosophy? Aikido has no dogma (Thank God for that!), but is a path of personal discovery. It is notable that the philosophies of dedicated practitioners, whilst each unique, do have a measure of similitude in the practical application in augmenting social harmony.
Can that be an accident?
As for being a “martial” art, Aikijutsu techniques have been incorporated, quietly drilled and deployed in action by elite special forces in the military. More so than in “the ring.”
The mind calming effects of good training has come into its own in multiple social and public spheres of influence. Also without too much fanfare, discussion of parroting of platitudes, rather the simple turning of circumstances for the better results in the achieving greater good. Skill in action!
Whether Aikido will survive with small groups in the suburbs bouncing each other of the walls and floors as we now enjoy, yet remains to be seen.
But whether it does or not, the ATTITUDE which is Aikido, that of the Peaceful Warrior who specializes in, as O’Sensei prayed for.. “The nurturing, care and protection of all life…” is, despite the fact we have a long way to go, clearly visible all around.
Good people are now sick and tired of tyranny, and prepared to do something effective and constructive about it.
Aikido may have a long way to go. Indeed, it may transmogrify into many and myriad applications without the label of Aikido necessarily attached.
But the influence of Aikido is unstoppable. It will continue to progress further than we can now see into the distant future.
For many years I have heard “war stories” come back. Some ranging from minor scuffles all the way to serious physical combat, but the more interesting ones have been of skilful deployment of ai-ki, loving intention in TURNING TIDES FOR BETTER OUTCOMES by the sheer courage of the Aikido practitioner involved knowing he or she had the backup of their Aikido training and thence feared not making the stand that made the difference.
Nearly everyone who trains has such a story or several.
Do you?
I would love to hear what you have to share.
Please add your story here or submit an article. It’s not boasting but sharing to inspire others.
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I think that we should train more and talk less. Yesterday I enjoyed an intense and very instructive seminar of 4 hours with given by the 5 Dan Christian Borie in our neighbour island Tenerife. We went with our sensei early in the morning by ship and came back late at night. It was worthwhile. We trained a lot, learned a lot and made new friends who promised to joins us in our next seminar in our island. Of course, Aikido will survive at least here in the Canary Islands
” If we hold aiki in our hearts , aiki can never die …
.Here in the Philippines, there are few clubs that are affiliated with established Aikido Organization such as Aikikai and Ki Society but there are lots and lots of small independent dojos scattered throughout the country. I myself belong to a group of 15 people in a small dojo. Aikido will survive and will continue to spread with the help of independent but dedicated Aikidokas.
All to often when I teach philosophy, especially to aikidoka who are not my direct students, I hear this same objection; Aikido has nothing to do with philosophy. And when I ask them what they mean then I hear the same argument; that philosophy has to do with set ideas, or as you say in your article, with dogma.
Philosophy can be translated as a love for wisdom or a search for wisdom. It is not a doctrine. It has nothing to do with dogmas. It has everything to do with enlightenment (surely you must have read Plato’s allegory of the cave) and getting rid of dogmas. As a searcher for wisdom and truth, the founder of Aikido was in the truest sense of the word a philosopher. Aikido was, we could say, his praxis of philosophy.
From his philosophy and his knowledge and skill in Budo comes his message that life is not about fighting, competition, killing, destruction, but about living together with our fellow humans and with nature and enjoying – celebrating life.
I try to get that message across by teaching and writing about Aikido, but also in my work in and with nature and showing visitors how this also reflects the idea of Aikido.
Having said all that, I do like your writing and find it important and inspiring. Thank You!
Tom Verhoeven
In watching the kids train I’ve seen them include the ‘get out of the way’ principle into their hearts and minds through the training of their bodies. Aikido trains the mind through the body. Bullying words are real and getting the spirit in a place to ‘get out of the way’ of verbal attacks has worked many times for the Aikido kids here.
I have some ‘war stories’ from my work in uniformed patrol but they are mostly technical stories. The most recent use of aiki principles and technique was on Sept. 11 2011 at a lecture by the US Senator who lead the 9/11 investigations. There were no protective services for him at the event. There were some agitators pressing in on him after having been asked to keep a respectful distance. Aiki principles are well suited to protective services situations. As a guest at the event I had no assignment to help, but the agitators were disrespectful and kept pressing through the crowd to get ‘in the face’ of the Senator. I was between the Senator and the agitators and able to notice them maneuvering without having to look back. I was able to adjust my position many times without being a threat or touching anyone. After nearly a dozen such position changes the Senator’s aid noticed what I was doing and nodded thanks.
The agitators finally noticed and tried to forcefully push past me. I ‘rooted’ and the ‘aggressor’ could not get past. The Senator moved to the elevator. He was clearly in some distress (he has a significant history of heart disease). I was still in the space between and the agitators were now yelling that they wanted on the elevator too. An aide said it was full and to catch the next one. I heard angry shout behind me and turned with my arm casually extended toward the elevator entrance. The agitator moved to enter and encountered my arm. He had two friends pressing with him but they could not get past. He turned his camera on me and said I had assaulted him. I smiled and offered to remain for the (slow responding) police. He walked away and the Senator had the peace he needed to recover from the antagonism. Throughout this incident I felt calm and confident, not angry or threatened. I had a strong motivation to protect though. Calm, confident, non-aggressive attitude and technique diffused a tense situation and no one was harmed.
Keith,
This is a very good example of how verbal and positional tactics worked to defuse a potentially violent situation. Well done!