History of Aikido

Aikido's founder, Morihei Ueshiba, was born in Japan on December 14, 1883. As a boy, he often
saw local thugs beat up his father for political reasons. He set out to make himself strong so that
he could take revenge. He devoted himself to hard physical conditioning and eventually to the
practice of martial arts, receiving certificates of mastery in several styles of jujitsu, fencing, and
spear fighting. In spite of his impressive physical and martial capabilities, however, he felt very
dissatisfied. He began delving into religions in hopes of finding a deeper significance to life, all
the while continuing to pursue his studies of budo, or the martial arts. By combining his martial
training with his religious and political ideologies, he created the modern martial art of Aikido.
Ueshiba decided on the name "Aikido" in 1942 (before that he called his martial art "aikib" AND
“aikinomichi").

On the technical side, Aikido is rooted in several styles of jujitsu (from which modern judo is also
derived), in particular daitoryu-(aiki)jujitsu, as well as sword and spear fighting arts.
Oversimplifying somewhat, we may say that Aikido takes the joint locks and throws from jujitsu
and combines them with the body movements of sword and spear fighting. However, we must
also realize that many Aikido techniques are the result of Master Ueshiba's own innovation.

"Aikido is not a way to fight with or defeat enemies; it is a way to reconcile the world and make
all human beings one family." "The essence of Aikido is the cultivation of ki [a vital force, internal
power, mental/spiritual energy]." "The secret of Aikido is to become one with the universe."
"Aikido is primarily a way to achieve physical and psychological self- mastery." "The body is the
concrete unification of the physical and spiritual created by the universe." And so forth. At the
core of almost all philosophical interpretations of Aikido, however, we may identify at least two
fundamental threads: (1) A commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible. (2)
A commitment to self-improvement through Aikido training.

Aikido makes use of body movement (tai sabaki) to blend with uke. For example, an "entering"
(irimi) technique consists of movements inward towards uke, while a "turning" (tenkan)
technique uses a pivoting motion. Additionally, an "inside" (uchi) technique takes place in front
of uke, whereas an "outside" (soto?) technique takes place to his side; a "front" (omote?)
technique is applied with motion to the front of uke, and a "rear" (ura) version is applied with
motion towards the rear of uke, usually by incorporating a turning or pivoting motion. Finally,
most techniques can be performed while in a seated posture (seiza). Techniques where both
uke and nage are sitting are called suwari-waza, and techniques performed with uke standing
and nage sitting are called hanmi handachi.

Thus, from fewer than twenty basic techniques, there are thousands of possible
implementations. For instance, ikkyō can be applied to an opponent moving forward with a
strike (perhaps with an ura type of movement to redirect the incoming force), or to an opponent
who has already struck and is now moving back to reestablish distance (perhaps an
omote-waza version). Specific aikido kata are typically referred to with the formula
"attack-technique(-modifier)". For instance, katate-dori ikkyō refers to any ikkyō technique
executed when uke is holding one wrist. This could be further specified as katate-dori ikkyō
omote, referring to any forward-moving ikkyō technique from that grab.

● In some areas, Japanese police officers are required to hold at least a Shodan (black
belt) in Aikido.
● Aikido is the only martial art allowed in the U.S. federal prison system.
● In a recent Florida court case, a man resisting arrest charged the officer involved for
using excessive force when his wrist was broken during the application of an Aikido
technique. The case reached the Florida State Supreme Court which ruled that the
offender broke his own wrist by resisting the technique.
● Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido, once pinned a Sumo wrestler using only a single
finger.
● The government of Japan awarded Ueshiba both their Medal of Honor and The Order of
the Rising Sun during his lifetime in recognition of the value of Aikido.
● Aikido was among the first martial arts freed from the ban imposed on their practice by
the US government after World War II.
● Your arm is stronger when you relax it. (!)
● The well-known actor Steven Seagal is a 7th degree black belt in Aikido.
● The practice of Shikko (or "knee-walking"), which has become an integral part of Aikido
training, was originally developed when Japanese feudal lords required that all their
followers remain on their knees while in the lord's presence. It later developed into a
formal movement in many Samurai ceremonies.

SOME TERMINOLOGIES IN AIKIDO (COUNTINGS)

One Ichi ● ATEMI - Striking ASHI-ATE Foot and leg techniques

Two Ni ● AIKIDO - Locking and immobilizing techniques, the way
Three San of harmony.
Four Shi ● ARIGATO - THANKS
Five Go ● DORI - Grip
Six Roku ● DACHI - Stance
Seven Shichi ● DAN - Level/grading
Eight Hachi ● DAN TSUKI - Consecutive punches
Nine Kyu ● DOJO - Place of practice
Ten Jyu ● DOMO ARIGATO - Thank you very much
Eleven Jyu Ichi ● GI - Training uniform
Twelve Jyu Ni ● KIMONO - Dress
Thirteen Jyu San ● NAGE - Throwing
Fourteen Jyu Shi ● REI - To bow
Fifteen Jyu Go ● SAYOO NARA - Good Bye
Sixteen Jyu Roku ● SEMPAI - Senior
Seventeen Jyu Shichi ● SENSEI - Teacher or Instructor
Eighteen Jyu Hachi ● SENSEI NE REI - Bow to instructor
 Nineteen Jyu Kyu ● SENSEI - Teacher
Twenty Ni Jyu ● UKE - Block
● UKEMI - Break falling
● UKEE - Attacker or assistant

The Aikido Rank Structure

The hierarchical structure of Aikido follows substantially the ranking system adopted by almost
all the other major martial arts. The students of the art are divided into two categories: one
including students of kyu rank, and the other including students of dan rank.
The category of kyu rank embraces students of Aikido who have not yet attained the status of
dan, and thus have not yet received their black belt. Collectively they are known as mudansha,
or undergraduates.
The category of dan rank embraces those students of Aikido who have been awarded their
black belts. Collectively they are known as yudansha (black belt holders).

Categories and Ranks of The Aikido Hierarchy

rank of 6th kyu (rokkyu) white belt

The kyu category & its ranks
The dan category & its ranks
rank of 5th kyu (gokyu)
rank of 4th kyu (yonkyu) white belt
rank of 3rd kyu (sankyu)
rank of 2nd kyu (nikyu) white with hakama
rank of 1st kyu (ikkyu)
rank of 1st dan (shodan) Fuku-Shidoin
rank of 2nd dan (nidan) (assistant instructor)
rank of 3rd dan (sandan)
rank of 4th dan (yondan) Shidoin (instructor)
rank of 5th dan (godan)
rank of 6th dan (rokudan) Shihan
rank of 7th dan (shichidan) (master instructor)
rank of 8th dan (hachidan)
higher

AIKIDO GRADING RANKS (from Aikikai website)

5th Kyu - 30 days of practice
4th Kyu - 40 days of practice after obtaining 5th Kyu
3rd Kyu - 50 days of practice after obtaining 4th Kyu
2nd Kyu - 50 days of practice after obtaining 3rd Kyu
1st Kyu - 60 days of practice after obtaining 2nd Kyu
1st Dan - 70 days of practice after obtaining 1st Kyu
2nd Dan - Minimum 1 year since 1st dan, with 200 days of practice
3rd Dan - Minimum 2 years since 2nd dan, with 300 days of practice
4th Dan - Minimum 3 years since 3rd dan, with 400 days of practice

The Aikido Yoshinkan group I trained with in the UK used the following...
8th kyu - white belt
7th kyu - yellow belt
6th kyu - green belt
5th kyu - blue belt
4th kyu - orange belt
3rd kyu - brown belt
2nd kyu - brown belt
1st kyu - brown belt
1st Dan - black belt