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COMBAT, WARFARE AND THE NEED TO DEFEND - The roots of Aikido are ancient and the progenitors of any worthwhile art should be afforded due recognition. Although martial arts have always been with us from the earliest tribes at the dawn of time, this is not the place to delve so far back as it would become an encyclopaedic work. Private research into the history of strategy, warfare and hand to hand and manual weapon combat makes an illuminating study. All cultures, known and unknown, historical and prehistoric had arts of defense. From the Sumerians to Mesopotamia, from the Vedic civilizations to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Byzantines, Vikings, China, Native America, the various Aboriginal and Islander populations, the tribes of Africa, to the Berbers and Mongols to name a few. It was a necessity of survival. More recently (the last thousand or so years) China and Japan have had an unmistakable influence on today's martial disciplines, which in the face of technological advances may or may not have lost their relevance in relation to mass warfare, but certainly retain superlative significance both as self defense arts and also as paths of personal development and spiritual transformation. Aikido is a distillation of the pinnacle of experience which was extracted from aeons of natural energy, which when misunderstood by unevolved consciousness, has a tendency to express as friction and contention in its many forms. EVOLUTION OF AIKIDO - In a small way this journey is touched upon here. History reveals numerous protagonists who were instrumental in the evolution and development of Aikido as we know it today. Some of the better known key figures linking the origins to the development of the art would be considered to be Minamoto no Yoshimitsu, Sokaku Takeda and Morihei Ueshiba. These are central identities in the evolution of what has become Aikido. This is not to say that countless many others were not instrumental with their contributions. Each added value, augmenting and supplementing in their unique way. Before Ueshiba, only a few Daito-Ryu dojos remained. By the time these arts appeared to peak, it seemed as if they would become anachronistic. Instead, their substance, barely noticeable, was ready for a great step in transformation. WHAT IS AIKIDO? - Born out of Aikijutsu, a legacy of Japan’s feudal era, Aikido is a dynamic and potent self defence science and art. Developed for close quarters fighting, forged from necessity and tempered in the heat of battle by generations of Samurai, it is a combat method without equal. Practical and effective, it applies the efficient principles of HARMONISING action and energy, using the natural movements of bio-mechanics, physics and metaphysics synchronised in action. This is possible for persons of any age, size or gender. Aikido techniques use the whole body, integrated with the mind, and employ dynamics found in nature and throughout the universe, instead of resisting conflict with more conflict. As a result the energy of conflict is dissipated. Regular training becomes a daily personal improvement where you become the best that you can be, by releasing your latent, natural potential and integrating the mind, body, emotions and spirit. This improves your abilities, skill and mental clarity in all areas of life as well as self defence. In a defence situation Aikido skill empowers a smaller, weaker person to have the advantage, because it addresses survival principles and personal protection strategies, rather than mere competition and clashing. Through the applied principles of harmony, conflict is converted into dynamic energy and challenges are adapted to your advantage because you develop the ability to take charge of an imposed force by redirecting it. What the untrained may perceive as difficulties you can transform into definite advantages. Regular training has a healing and tonic effect on mind, body and emotions, because these become balanced and integrated through exploring potentials inherent in the application of the techniques of Aikido practice. Training is kinesthetic communication which co-ordinates the pre-frontal cortex/amygdalæ and the dopamine/serotonin relationships which result in the fine tuning of the brain, limbic and nervous systems, biochemistry, endocrines etc., to clarify effective perceptions. These become finely tuned, strengthening the intention and building appropriate response pathways to produce a flowing, flexible capability. As you progress, your instincts become sublimated into clear and instantaneous intuitive reflex actions, empowering you to enact your right to defend yourself in the best possible way, in any given moment, should the need arise; and yet to live a life of calm equipoise in the face of ordinary daily challenges. The elements of KI and AI-KI must be embodied, practiced and activated to be understood. They are not hypotheses, but functions of the Universe as it is. UESHIBA'S LEGACY - Following the great inheritance left behind by the early pioneers, there followed highs and lows in the evolution of the arts which contributed to the outcome as the Aikido we know today. Many of the ancient originators of those old and sometimes eclectically scattered Budo parts may have died in battle, but somehow, thin threads of these arts were preserved, passed on and researched further. After Takeda, with the old style feudal systems having gone, it became more possible to expand and research the spiritual essence of the various arts in an increasingly conducive environment. Morihei Ueshiba, caught this unseen wave and having a unique predisposition for unifying the missing parts of the mystery, rode it in to make a major discovery of human potential. AIKIDO NOW GLOBAL - After Master Ueshiba, there followed many branches of the rejuvenated art, now transformed into Aikido. Space precludes a complete list although all branches are considered esteemed and notable. Worldwide, there are many more Aikido schools than can be mentioned here. For those interested, we've provided a page with links to some Aikido and related sites. MANY SCHOOLS - This is a brief history of an often tenuous thread of transmission which led to this school arising. Official histories are many, may differ and are much more elaborate. Perhaps in the future we may take it upon ourselves to add to that contained herein. From part 5, with the emergence of Master Ueshiba's best students worldwide, a great pioneering thrust occurred and was followed by an explosion of the art's development and practice. This led to this modest school and so many other schools becoming possible worldwide. WHY IS AIKIDO DIFFERENT? - Strategy being foremost, it would stand to reason that because of the high risk factor, price and inevitable losses associated with engagement, that 'not fighting' would be the preferred tactic for dealing with conflict. And yet few arts have this principle as the pre-eminent focus. The essence of Aikido whether it is understood by all practitioners or not, is that of responding to the insanity of violence with sanity. Effective, non-destructive sanity. A rather innovative and previously believed to be impossible approach. In any event, a multitude of Aikido schools have grown throughout the planet since the 70's. The reason? Aikido offered the practical possibility of a real art of dynamic peace. O'SENSEI LEFT A GIFT TO THE WORLD - Few would dispute that it was O'Sensei, Master Morihei Ueshiba's consummate skill, legendary life and unique motivation that was the main pivotal point in making the essence Aikido become a global event. After him, the expansion which followed seemed inevitable. Perhaps someone with the time and resources may one day take the cue and delineate a complete family tree of all the strands of Aikido which exploded unstoppably and spontaneously following O'Sensei's legacy. The turning point from mere 'jutsu' or techniques of violent intent, to a 'Do' or a Way of personal transformation through self integration and harmonising of KI, may well have begun in the Spring of 1925 and Master Ueshiba's enlightenment experience, whereby he culminated a spiritual goal. It is believed that this event was strongly contributory to the transforming of Aikijujutsu into AikiBudo and thence into Aikido, a new conscious paradigm where victory is inclusive and therefore sustainable and not exclusive and passing. In other words when everyone wins, true victory has been achieved, for when there are ‘losers’ everyone has lost; and the bully and victim cycle starts over. Often with the roles reversed. Those conditions that lead to war, violence and contest are a tragic pathology of the mind and soul where human beings debase their natural talents for unjust destruction instead of creativity. And no-one escapes the suffering which follows or are able to reconstitute the cultural treasures thus lost. It stands to reason that 'The Art of Peace' should be given due consideration at a practical level. WE SALUTE ALL SCHOOLS AND TRAINEES - Please bear in mind that the very brief outline in this website, leaves out many magnificent senseis and historical figures. It is a brief and partial history as it relates to the particular evolution which lead to this school coming into being. To outline them all, whilst preferred, would be an immense task and would take up huge website space. Most are already covered on other websites and books. Our school honours and acknowledges them all and encourages individual research into a more elaborate history than that presented here. Global Search Aikido Master Ueshiba stated: "It is the Way of Aikido to make the heart of the universe our own and perform our mission of loving and protecting all beings with a grand spirit. The techniques of training are only a means to attain that end." A Brief History Leading to Aikido 1 : Minamoto no Yoshimitsu (1036-1127) ORIGINS ROOTED IN WARFARE 2 : Tanomo Saigo (1830-1903) (1036-1127) TRANSMISSION OF KEYS 3 : Sokaku Takeda (1860-1943) KEEPER OF THE FLAME 4 : Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT 5 : Seiichi Sugano SHINING PIONEER 6 : Nev Sagiba CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN 1 Minamoto | 2 Saigo | 3 Takeda | 4 Ueshiba | 5 Sugano | 6 Sagiba | 7 Branches | 8 Future |
