Pages: 1 2

Aikido is a kind of martial arts which is often considered as modern Japanese budo. This martial art’s emphasis is on the spiritual and philosophical development of one’s self. The word "Aikido" basically means "The Way of Harmony with the Spirit." It is the study of the natural laws and how they harmonize with the mind and body.

Aikido is encompassing. You will be taught to use both armed and unarmed forms of combat and self defense. For unarmed attacks, you have at your disposal a variety of throws, strikes, joint-lock techniques, vital points and even those so-called mystery attacks wherein you attack the opponent without laying a hand on him or her. Meanwhile, armed attacks involve the use of every kind of weapon imaginable. From swords to knives, from sticks to spears, practically everything can be utilized in Aikido as a weapon.

However, in general most Aikido classes are conducted with exclusive training with the use of the jo or staff, tanto or knife and the bokken or sword. These three serve as the main weapons used in Aikido. Even though Aikido appears to be using more unarmed forms and techniques of martial arts, there are a couple of reasons why weapons are studied in Aikido classes and training sessions. Aikido has a strong weapon martial arts foundation and any training with weapons will only reinforce the basic techniques of the martial art.

Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, known to his students and Aikido practitioners as ?-sensei which means Great Teacher, was particularly skilled with the staff. He was able to integrate weapon techniques with basic Aikido movements. But among the multitude of weapons out there the sword has the most influence on the development stages of Aikido techniques.

Through weapons training, an Aikido practitioner will be able to measure the distance between attacks. Also called ma-ai, the proper distancing is very important in timing an attack and defending one. And speaking of defense, weapons training is also necessary since advanced Aikido techniques involve defending against people bearing all sorts of weapons.

In order to practice each advanced move safely, Aikido practitioners needed to be familiar with each weapons’ capabilities. Therefore, with Aikido weapons training, one will be able to develop his skills, intuitiveness and reflexes in both attacking and defending movements.

Among the weapons used in Aikido weapons training include the katana, the single edged, slightly curved sword famous in the world as the sword of the samurai. In Aikido weapons training, you will also be taught to handle, hold, fight and defend using the tanto which in actuality is a knife or a short blade. The tanto was also extremely popular amongst the men and women who lived by the samurai code during their time.

Possibly Related Posts and Articles (automatically generated)

• The dynamics of Aikido’s techniques Japanese martial arts.
  Due to the dynamic nature of Aikido, most experts say that there are no definite "styles" or "techniques" in practicing the martial art. After the development of aikido by Morihei Ueshiba, called "O Sensei," many students were inspired to train under his tutelage. After their training, the Great Teacher encouraged his students to [...]
• The Art of Aikido. Aikido martial arts. Japanese martial arts.
  Martial Arts is one of the contributions of Asia to the world. Who can forget Bruce Lee and the fact that he was first and foremost a martial arts athlete before being a movie star? Even until now martial arts is still a big hit with the increasing popularity of Asian movies like crouching [...]
• Learning Aikido by watching Aikido video Japanese martial arts.
  Among the various martial arts that have emerged over the years, Aikido is one of those that continue to gather more practitioners. Simply because more and more people believe that martial arts should not instigate attacks but should place great emphasis on motion and the dynamics of movement especially of the opponents' and use [...]
• Defending Oneself Using Nothing But Aikido Tomiki Japanese martial arts.
  Imagine walking home late at night when suddenly a group of people come out of nowhere and begin to surround you. The individual can cry out for help in the hopes that the locals will offer assistance or just give the money and hope that the hoodlums will leave after that. But what [...]
• Using Aikido Moves in Practice or in Combat. Ai hanmi Kokyuho. Japanese martial arts.
  There are more than 10 different moves in Aikido. It only takes a split second whether someone comes out as a victor or a loser in combat. The person can try to remember it later on to see what errors were made in order to become a better fighter in the [...]