This Japanese martial art, which emerged in the 1920s, is a fusion of the Daito-ryu Aiki style of jiu-jitsu with the precepts of the Omoto-kyo religious movement. The result is a style of circular movements, pushing and twisting, in which the objective is to defend yourself without hurting your opponent. The “path of harmonizing energies” was only made official in 1942, during the reorganization of martial arts in Japan. For the first masters, there was no difference between aikido and Japanese arts such as shodo (calligraphy), sadô (tea ceremony) and kadô (flower arrangements). “It is the way to reconcile the world and make humanity one family,” wrote founder Morihei Ueshiba. The style attracted elite people and practitioners of other martial arts. From the 1950s, it gained fans around the world.
The purpose of the struggle is to find spiritual and physical balance.
MORIHEI UESHIBA (1883-1969)
Born in the port city of Tanabe, O-Sensei («great master») was not a young man of great physical strength. His father wanted him to wrestle sumo, but Morihei preferred the company of books. From 1912, he moved with his wife to the island of Hokkaido and began to learn various fights until he found his own style, creating all the strikes used until today.
FULL OUTFIT
The hakama – pants worn in aikido – is full of style, with seven pleats that represent the virtues of the samurai. The color of the belts varies from school to school, but the most common is to divide it only between white, for beginners and intermediate levels, and black for more advanced ones.
• Karate master Toyosaku Sodeyama failed to strike Ueshiba. “He looked like a ghost,” said the karateka
• Aikido supporter, actor Steven Seagal used fight moves in several of his films, such as Killing Fury and Operation Rising Sun
• The first place outside Japan to discover aikido was France, in the early 1950s. In Brazil, the style arrived in 1963
Maneuvers are inspired by sword strikes of ancient samurai
YOKOMEN UTI
One of the variations of frontal blows with the knife hand. It is applied with a lateral movement and can be used with a stick
RYOTE DORI
With his wrists held by his rival, the fighter releases one of his hands. It’s enough to apply an arm twist and take the opponent to the ground.
MUNA DORI
Efficient on the kickback. When the rival approaches, the fighter takes one hand to his neck and with the other twists his arm followed by a throw.
Movements to avoid attacks prepare effective counters
WASA
The advantage of the movement is the surprise factor: lying on the ground, about to be kicked, the fighter reacts and uses his arm to unbalance the rival
TANTODORI
It serves to block blows with the hand, like the Yokomen Uti, or as a defense against melee weapons. The kickback ends with a pin
KOTE-GAESHI
Can be applied to parry close range strikes – such as direct punches to the face – and helps in preparing high counters
Aikido has no tournaments, just exhibitions with no winners or losers.
PASSING FROM PHASE
In Brazil, the test to pass lanes takes place in pairs and cooperatively. Uke, or sparring, attacks in different ways and whoever is being evaluated applies corresponding techniques in front of specialists
PAULEIRA TRAINING
The training routine is very different from other martial arts. Students only practice defense and counterattack, always in pairs, so that one can learn from the other. Wooden weapons, of various sizes, are also used.
SACRED ROOM
The training room, or dojo, always has a kamiza: a Shinto shrine before which students bow when arriving and leaving. Upon receiving instructions, the student kneels and thanks the master with a bow
Sources – Brazilian Aikido Federation and International Aikido Federation