Aikido Philosophy
The philosophy of Aikido is that this martial art aims for nonviolence. It should be a nonviolent way of practice. Hereby stimulating your flexibility, dynamism, and inner strength.
Each training can be seen as a kind of purification (“misogi”) where you work on yourself and others. After a training you often feel refreshed and recovered. If not physically, then certainly mentally. You can put your mind off things together with others and also have a physical workout.
Working out with others implies also that you learn to deal with others. It is not only a physical aspect but also a mental one.
Aikido is not about winning and losing. Although many people may think so concerning martial arts. The word Aikido includes the “do” which means “the road”. This path represents a personal development. Working on yourself and, wider seen, even to a better world. The slogan “improve the world, start with yourself” is thereby beautifully applicable. Thereby introducing here the “aiki” by the art of reconciliation and agreement.
In Aikido, it is not the intention to harm someone else. The gained knowledge should result in a way to avoid this. In training you learn to set yourself mentally. This, together with the physical training will make you realize it is better to use your energy in a positive way. After all, we obtain to seek a harmony between body and mind. If this fails you will get collisions, either physically or mentally. The harmony is gone. Hereby you learn to see that this is less enjoyable. So it is better to avoid a fight than having to bear the consequences.
I have already experienced this myself outside the tatami. It’s nice to see after a confrontation that you are mentally and physically ready to face a situation. If thereby, it was not necessary to use your techniques, just by your preparedness, it is a good situation.
If you nevertheless still consider to use aikido in a martial way, you can neutralize someone without doing too much damage. This will allow them later on to consider whether this was the best option to do. At the same time you got rid of a problem yourself. Knowledge of techniques can therefore help to prevent a worse situation. It is not intended to make the situation worse. The gained knowledge also gives you a certain state of mind by which you already can prevent a worse situation. By having options, you can keep this attitude. If you don’t have this option, it may get out of hand.
Quotes
“It’s an art to live well in harmony with others and at peace with the world.” (John Stevens)
“The true warrior exhibits enlightened wisdom and deep calm.” (O-sensei)
“Master the divine techniques of the art of peace and no enemy will dare you to challenge.” (O-sensei)
So the solution can be peace. With yourself, your surroundings, eventually with the world.
Aikido is an art to know yourself and others. And the interaction between both. By training you go over and over the same points again. You practice them again and again. Yet you always have another insight in it. It is a gradual completion of stages to achieve a higher level. This “higher level” will eventually result in a peaceful ideology that does not require the practiced techniques.
O-sensei saw aikido as a means to yourself, your environment, and extensively, to the world for achieving world peace.
I thereby hit on a nice expression that nicely reflects the stages one has to go through in order to come to this point.
“Shu-ha-rai”
“Shu” is the stage where copying and obeying the teacher stands central. The teacher is protective and is trusted.
“Ha” is a phase in which the student becomes more liberal, but also may encounter frustration. In here you learn from your own situations.
“Rai” is the advanced stage where the student becomes freer, but begins to understand the art of learning independent from the teacher.
Aikido, thereby is, a fellowship at various levels. You try to strive for harmony. Not only in your techniques but also in terms of spirit. It was through aikido that O-sensei has tried to inspire people to train aikido, to gain knowledge, and eventually, to end up in world peace. It does not matter what you can do or how strong one is. There will always be someone better or faster or stronger than yourself. You get best in a state of non-confrontation. It is better to continue both your way untouched.
At first you do not succeed to imitate a technique. After a while it improves and eventually you can pass on things yourself. Further development teaches you to get in harmony with your opponent. So we are not going to start an attack ourselves. There is no violence and hardcore action pursued but non-violence and harmony.
The art of aikido is to repel an attack without injuring the attacker. The intention is not to damage the attacker but to let him see the futility of further aggression. Hostile thoughts will only sow destruction and devastation.
If you watch it in a wider range you also can see what one can do in this environment. Not only in a direct way to your fellow man but also in other ways. We finally use all the same raw materials and all want a better life. If we thereby aren’t concerned with petty thoughts and selfish desires, one can live in true freedom.
- Edwin Coenegrachts