The subject of oriental Martial Arts is one of the most important presents of Asia to the world. Who will not bear in mind that Bruce Lee was first and foremost a martial arts sports person before becoming a movie star?
Martial arts pictures are a colossal hit with the ever-rising popularity of Asian cinema like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘The House of the Flying Daggers’.
The Chinese are the first nation that come to mind if you think of such sports, but the Japanese are just as sporty with a rich heritage of body contact sports in their past. Modern Japan still gives honour to the martial arts by holding tournaments and promoting their martial arts in foreign countries.
Aikido is one of these. It is interesting to note the fact that the word comes from three Japanese characters from which is derived the one word. Ai means ‘joining’, Ki means ’spirit’ and Do means ‘manner’.
From this we can understand why Aikido lies beyond merely the physical skills of it students, particularly since its first proponent, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical improvement of his pupils.
In Aikido, one is not trained in violence instead, one is trained to be in harmony with the opponent so that you are able to defeat him more easily. This may seem strange but it really works.
When approaching an opponent, the objective of the Aikido practitioner is to become one with the adversary so as to become able to tackle him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or immobilize him, but never to slay him.
This is where Aikido becomes an art form. Art is something beautiful to look at and something helpful and Aikido is all that. At least one of the contestants concerned in the combat is looking for concord and concord can only be achieved if there is grace in the actions.
The moves might be premeditated, but there is an air of grace in performing these movements. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that emanates peace. The ‘art of peace’ is what they call it in Aikido.
It is one of the most affirmative influences of Aikido on its students and to everyone else who decides to learn about this Japanese martial art.
Some of the moves in Aikido involve the following:
Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique, you direct an opponent by using one hand to hold his elbow and one to hold near the wrist. This action is supposed to permit you to pin your opponent down to the ground.
Nikyo, the second technique, is when you perform a wrist lock which empowers you to twist the arm of your adversary which will in turn cause nerve pressure.
Sankyo, the third technique, is a process that creates upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other moves but the first three are enough to give you a fundamental idea.
When studying Aikido, it is crucial to remember that, together with building physical strength, you will have to improve your mind to become able to overpower your antagonist. Just| like in any other art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to reach the summit of the art of Aikido.
The vital thing to keep in mind is that anyone who wants to get into the art must have the resolve to give honour to the art by performing it in the best manner that they can.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is now concerned with Mixed Martial Arts For Kids. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes