Annelise Hitchman

Arnulfo Pasigan
Aikido
September 14th, 2016
Assignment 1

Compared to other forms of martial art, Aikido is modern and focuses and
inflicting the least amount of harm on both the opponent and the defender. Aikido was
developed by Morihei Ueshiba, born in Tanabe, Japan on April 26 th, 1969. Born to
Yoroku and Yuki Ueshiba, Morihei was the only male among his many sisters. After
experiencing three separate spiritual awakenings, Morihei Ueshiba developed Aikido.
His first spiritual experience happened in 1925, where he felt his body instantly feel
lighter and golden. His second spiritual experience occurred in 1940 where Morihei
Ueshiba forgot all his previous martial arts techniques and replaced them with new,
non-harmful techniques. And, finally, his last spiritual awakening came in 1942 where
he had a vision of the Great Spirit of Peace. Aikido comes from the Japanese ai which
means combine or unite, ki which means spirit or energy, and do which appears in
many martial arts names and means way. Morihei Ueshiba combined joint-locking and
open-handed throwing techniques with the art of weapon use as well. Morihei Ueshibas
philosophy of using ones own momentum to knock them down without doing excess
harm stems from his religious beliefs. Morihei Ueshiba was greatly influenced by the
Omoto-kyo religion which focuses on finding utopia in life. Morihei Ueshiba was also
influenced by many other forms of martial art. The most influential martial art for

Morihei Ueshiba was Dait-ry aiki-jjutsu. Morihei Ueshiba also studied Tenjin
Shin'y-ry and Gotha Yagy Shingan-ry.
I have tried to employ some forms of Aikido in my life before knowing they were
pratices of Aikido. For example, I always try to live in harmony with everything and
everyone around me. I have also never been a fan of violence for the sake of violence,
and the idea of only using the violence against you as a form of defense is extremely
appealing. I am taking Aikido to be more harmonious with my own body. Over the
summer, I went jet-skiing with my brother for his birthday, and rode on the back. Being
the daredevil he is, we were jumping up and down along the waves the entire time. By
the end, my knees hurt because I was taking the majority of the impact on my knees. I
am trying to obtain the skills that many athletes have and the capability to take impact
in a way that minimizes injury. In addition, I am taking Aikido to hopefully learn a little
bit about self defense. I think it is extremely beneficial that I am already treating fighting
as a form of using the opponents energy against them.
I hope to learn how to protect important joints, like my knees, from taking this
Aikido class. I also hope to learn and remember counting in Japanese from 1-10. Finally,
I hope to be able to learn how to successfully use someones own momentum against
them well enough to feel safe amongst extremely violent and fight-prone people.

Bibliography
http://www.aikidofaq.com/history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aikido
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba
http://www.nippon-kan.org/history-of-nippon-kan/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-foundermorihei-ueshiba-april-1968/