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March/April 2006

Journeys in Body

Aikido:
At harmony with the universe

By Chris O’Brien

Many people hear the word aikido and picture some hard core dude taking on 10 guys in a ‘70s kung fu movie. Others conjure going down to the local YMCA and donning an Oriental bathrobe only to get flipped by a third-grader. Both are certainly possibilities, but extreme ones at best. Realistically, aikido is one of the most popular and accessible forms of Japanese martial arts, and includes not only elements of self-defense and physical combat, but also a path of self discovery complete with spiritual ideals and principles for living.

“Aikido is a path of finding harmony with energy in your life,” says Stephen Toyoda, executive director of the Aikido Association of America in Chicago. “Ai means harmony; ki means energy, and do means the way. Initially, most people approach it as a martial art, but this usually gives way to self discovery, and like an artist shapes a block of clay, the practice peels away the unessential layers of a person revealing a beautiful sculpture which is the essence of who we really are.”

In fact, the reigning dictum in the aikido community is “true victory is self victory.” In other words, the physical skills and fitness cultivated through an Aikido practice are formidable, but the true strength is found in the balance, or harmony, between the body, mind and spirit.

As an example of the facility of mind and body that aikido teaches, Toyoda tells a story of his father, Fumio Toyoda, aikido shihan, a recognized figure in the international aikido community, who was confronted by a man who wanted to fight. The man wandered into the dojo—the local training facility—and demanded a fight. Fumio Toyoda said, “Maybe we should take this outside so you don’t beat me in front of my students.” The man agreed. As the man passed through the front door, Fumio Toyoda simply closed and locked the door behind him, diffusing the confrontation without having to resort to a fight—one that Fumio Toyoda clearly would have won.

The point is, aikido is not all physical. Typically, in the first few lessons, a beginning student will learn how to get out of certain attacks such as a wrist grab, two-hand grab, and so forth. An untrained person, when grabbed by the wrist, will look at the wrist, focus on it, fight it and become more and more paralyzed even though only a very small part of their entire body is being touched.

This is a powerful metaphor for life, because we all have challenges, problems and unexpected situations to deal with. When a problem comes up—a metaphorical wrist grab—if we focus on that and fight it, it paralyzes us. But aikido teaches the student to relax, to be in harmony with what is and to use the energy and force of what is to move to a new place. This gives control of the rest of the body back to the individual or, using the metaphor, the rest of one’s life.

Of course, aikido is not all maxims for living. If you’re prone to bar fights or muggings, you certainly will benefit from the physical and tactical skills of Aikido. It’s just that there’s more to the practice than learning how to take and give a punch, flip somebody and get out of a bear hug.

How it began

AIKIDO - These three characters can be roughly translated to say, "the way of combining chi" of the way to combinne the opponent's energy with one's own energy.

Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba, a master of martial arts who is known as aikido’s founder and O-Sensei (“great teacher”). The practice was cultivated during the early 1900s, with the name aikido finally coming into being in the 1940s. O-Sensei was not only extraordinarily proficient with the spear, staff and sword, and at ju-jitsu, but he also had a powerful spiritual drive. The alchemy of his technical abilities, mental focus and spiritual vision—elements that had for the most part been separated in Japanese culture—is what we now call aikido.

“The secret of aikido,” Ueshiba once said, "is to harmonize with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself.” To this end, many of the physical and mental strategies involve working with the existing energy flow rather than fighting it—using the force of your opponent to disarm your opponent.

O-Sensei believed that devotion to this path was a way to overcome the challenges and imbalances in ourselves and position us to contribute to the betterment of the world. He is known to have taught that every martial artist is personally responsible for avoiding fighting and preserving life and peace in the universe.

This teaching is important as advanced moves can be lethal. And, according to the tradition, being physically proficient does not give one the right to hurt others.

Getting involved

Aikido is appropriate for any age level. In fact, Toyoda says that in Japan, many don’t start a formal practice of aikido until after retirement and one of his teachers-—well into his 70s—is still taking falls without getting hurt. For kids, aikido offers physical fitness and mental discipline as well as the opportunity for clear self-expression, growth and self-esteem.

To get started, you need only pick one of your local aikido clubs or dojos. They are easy to find online and in the phone book. There’s no reason to be intimidated or get over-prepared to start—you don’t have to start doing pushups or rush out and buy nunchucks—just sign up and try it out.

Most clubs offer memberships ranging from about $20 to $90 per month, depending on the facilities, with multiple classes daily. They’ll help you pick out the right class and get started. Within the first few classes, you will learn some basic self-defense techniques including how to avoid an attack such as a grab or punch. You’ll also get the flavor of the philosophy and an opportunity to find out more about the practice, and you’re likely to learn more about who you are and get some new tools for living .

Resources, local and beyond

To find out more about aikido in general and local opportunities\ to practice, visit these links:

• www.aaa-aikido.com/index2.htm: Aikido Association of America, Stephen Toyoda ’ s site
• www.aikido.com: History, lineage, links, dojo search, discussion, publications
• www.aikidoonline.com/index.html: More history, lineage, links, dojo search, discussion, publications
• www.nippon-kan.org/index2.html: Denver Aikido Club
• www.carbon.cudenver.edu/aikido: Denver University Aikido Club
• www.aikidoki.net/aikilink.htm: Links to Front Range aikido dojos
• www.aiki.com: Aikido Today magazine