Aikido - General Background

History: Aikido in its present form is a relatively recent innovation within the martial arts tradition. It was developed in Japan in the early 20th century by Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969), who was introduced to the classical martial arts as a boy by his father, Yoroku. He is known to have studied some martial arts, such as various styles of Ju-jitsu as well as Kenjutsu and the art of the spear. Philosophy: If we are attacked by a force and we apply force ourselves, a collision of energies ensues which results in disharmony. Thus, accordingly the stronger force wins. If, however, we meet the force with an absorbing movement and then exhaust it to the point of imbalance before applying a force of our own (the Aikido way), we are in fact restoring harmony or redressin View the rest of this article