The Martial Art Of Aikido The subject of oriental Martial Arts is one of the most important gifts of Asia to the world. Who will not remember that Bruce Lee was first and foremost a martial arts athlete before becoming a movie star? Martial arts pictures are a huge hit with the ever-increasing 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 things, 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 advertising their martial arts abroad. Aikido is one of these. It is interesting to observe the fact that the word comes from three Japanese characters from which is derived the one word. Ai means 'joining', Ki is 'spirit' and Do is 'manner'. From this we can understand why Aikido lies beyond only the physical skills of it students, especially since its first advocate, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical development 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 readily. This may appear strange but it really works. When fighting an opponent, the goal of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the adversary so as to become able to fight him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or immobilize him, but never to kill him. This is where Aikido becomes an art form. Art is something beautiful to look at and something positive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the contestants concerned in the combat is looking for concord and concord can only be attained if there is grace in the proceedings. The moves might be premeditated, but there is an air of grace in performing these actions. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that comes from 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 everybody else who chooses 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 adversary 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 turn the arm of your adversary which will in turn induce nerve pressure. Sankyo, the third technique, is a technique that creates upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other techniques but the first three are enough to give you a basic insight. When studying Aikido, it is vital to bear in mind that, together with building physical strength, you will need to improve your mind to be able to overpower your challenger. Just| like in any other art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to reach the peak 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 determination to give honour to the art by performing it in the best way possible. Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a range of topics, but is now involved with Mixed Martial Arts for Kids. If you would like to know more, go to our website at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes