Composed of the ideograms 合 AI (harmony), 気 KI (universal biding energy) and 道 DO (path), the word can be translated as "The Way of Universal Harmony", making clear the purpose of its practice.

Aikido presents itself as a traditional martial art endowed with a very differentiated approach when compared to other arts. Based on the harmony of nature, its circular movements advocate the pacific acceptance of the conflict so that its resolution manifests itself spontaneously. To get a little better understanding, let's talk a little bit about some aspects of its daily practice over the mats.

Deeply rooted in the Japanese tradition, daily training follows the rules of etiquette common to this culture. Therefore, at the beginning, during and at the end of practice, practitioners bow before their Sensei2 and each other as a way of expressing gratitude for the teachings and for the opportunity to practice. This tends to generate a receptive, peaceful and cooperative environment. Technically Aikido is based on pins, trapping and projections dependent on a flexible, yet stable center. The techniques ask the practitioner to learn to relax, moving in favor of the attack, accepting it and then canceling it and resolving the conflict. The intention is to become "one" with attack and attacker. Cooperation among practitioners is a key point in the practice of Aikido and the development of the aikidoka. This idea of ​​cooperation is especially important because they counteract the notion of competition, common to all forms of combat, especially those engaged in sports. This competitive behavior is also rooted in our social relationships. Therefore, in traditional Aikido there are no competitions. Master Ueshiba believed that the purpose of Budo was to develop the character of the practitioner in order to dissolve he’s ego, since the competitive and egocentric mentality would compromise the healthy development of society as a whole.

According to Master Ueshiba, daily training is essential to strengthen the body, polish the spirit and unite both to what he called the "universal will". My late Sensei used to say "Aikido, life ... same thing," meaning that the pursuit of the right attitude during training sessions is no different from the search for the correct attitude towards our day-to-day life outside the mats. But attaining this level of detachment is not an easy task. This is where the daily practice of Aikido crosses the boundaries of the dojo3. We have mentioned in a simple way, three elements of the practice of aikido that we can consider as fundamental for the development of the correct training attitude and, consequently, being able to call upon when facing the challenges presented by life: acceptance, cooperation and gratitude.

Let’s imagine ourselves under a stressful situation of any kind. Our most primitive tendency is to react defensively/aggressively, tense, unconsciously resisting (not accepting) the truth of the situation, which renders us unable to perceive it as it is, constricting our power to solve it efficiently. Aikido’s methodology encourages us to be aware of our unconscious behaviors, therefore, to keep the body relaxed and the mind calm, centered, the spirit immobile (不動心 FUDOSHIN4), accepting the present challenge without judgments, which clarifies our perception and gives us more freedom to glimpse a greater number of possibilities for conflict resolution, as well as greater assertiveness in action. In turn, the cooperative (non-competitive) mentality seeks to put the ego in check and enables us to perceive our training partner as a companion in building a fertile environment for mutual development rather than an opponent, rival or enemy. From the acceptance of the challenge presented by the situation and the cooperation to overcome it, gratitude emerges and in being grateful we tend to accept and cooperate further, forming a self-nourishing cycle - the cycle of Aiki, the cycle of Universal Harmony.

With that said, we can conceive of Aikido as a bodily practice with martial elements, based on a deep philosophy, which aims mainly at self-knowledge and personal development, seeking to manifesting the "universal will" of harmony throughout the human sphere.

This exercise of acceptance and gratitude begins within each of us, first accepting ourselves, our imperfections and our truth as a first step towards accepting the other, their differences and their truth, and uniting in gratitude for the opportunity of constantly strive to build a world with greater empathy.

This is the invitation of Aikido, an invitation for a radical change of mentality in relation to conflict - be it ideological, psychological or physical.

To give you some inspiration and nourishment for reflections, I leave you with a few phrases from the founder of Aikido, Master Morihei Ueshiba, which reflect a little of what we present in this article:

“The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. (…) The real Way of the Warrior is to prevent such slaughter – it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.”

“There are no contests in the Art of Peace. A true Warrior is invincible because he or she contests with nothing. Defeat means to defeat the mind of contention that we harbor within.”

“True Budo is not a mere negation of the concept of opponent, but rather the total absence of the very spirit of resistance.”

“Aikido is not a technique to fight and defeat an enemy. It is a way to reconcile the world and make human beings one family.”

“Masakatsu Agatsu Katsuhayabi – True victory is the victory over self, here and now!”

GLOSSARY:

1. Budo: martial-philosophical path of Japanese origin;

2. Sensei: professor, generally the head instructor;

3. Dojo: place where the Budo arts are practiced;

4. Fudoshin: the martial Japanese concept of a “immovable mind”, a mind/spirit that is unshakeable.

REFERENCES:

1.     Art of Peace, The. UESHIBA, M.

2.     Spirit of Aikido, The. UESHIBA, K.

3.     Philosophy of Aikido, The. STEVENS, J.

4.     Aikido and the Harmony of Nature. SAOTOME, M.

5.     http://budobum.blogspot.com/2015/03/states-of-mind-fudoshin.html

6.     https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud%C3%B4

About the Author:

Motivated by its philosophical aspects, Wagner Zoccoli is a 3rd degree Aikido black belt with 18 years of experience. And now 35, Wagner has begun transitioning into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai Kickboxing as well with the intention of expanding his knowledge and overall understanding of martial arts in general.