Aikido is a Japanese martial art that spread throughout the world in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Aikido is enjoyed by millions of practitioners throughout the world. The founder of Aikido was Morhei Ueshiba known as “O Sensei” (great teacher).
The word Aikido is a Japanese word that has no exact translation in English but roughly translates to: “the way of harmonising with Ki”. The word Ki may be translated as “life force” or “universal energy”. Therefore Aikido is “The way of harmonising with universal energy”.
Many people see Aikido as being the martial art famous for a few things
– using the attackers energy against them
– defending ourselves without harming the attacker (as much as is possible)
You may also have seen Aikido demonstrated by Steven Seagal in some of his successful blockbuster films.
The techniques of Aikido can seem strange at first and many people would ask “who would attack you like that?”.
Indeed the techniques really come from an early time when swords and weapons were commonly carried and protective armour may have been worn. Some people say “Aikido comes from the sword” and this may be true. The techniques of Aikido allow us to develop our body and mind. Correct practise of the technique allows us to develop our Ki.
We learn joint locks that allow us to control and disarm an attackers. We also study defence from multiple attackers and from weapons. We have a form of sparring training known as randori in which we learn to develop kokyunage (breath throw) techniques to deal with on coming attacks. Aikido can be fun, effective and mind expanding. You have to come along to see for yourself.
Aikido For Glasgow 