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Aikido Principle Aikido is based on
the principle of self-defense without injury to the attacker. The basic
blocks, counters, and steps of Aikido are very smooth, and circular. Most
attacks are executed in a line, and are very quick. Counter attacks are
often compiled of a quick attack to make the attacker focus on the area
of pain, then followed by a circular motion to put the attacker on the
ground, or in another bad position for attacking again. Then, instead
of following with an injuring attack to leave the attacker helpless, or
even killed, the Aikidoist respects his opponent by not taking away any
of their honor. History Morihei Ueshiba, the founder began teaching Aikido in 1931 In a Tokoite dojo. He studied under masters in many traditional martial arts, eventually becoming expert at a number of styles of Jujitsu, kenjitsu, and sojitsu. He also dedicated himself to religious and philosophical studies. The formulation of Aikido started during and incident that occurred in 1925. During a discussion about martial arts, a disagreement arose between Ueshibai and a naval officer and fencing instructor. The officer challenged Ueshiba to a fight, and attacked with a wooden sword. Ueshiba faced the officer unarmed. He was able to defeat his opponent by constantly evading blows until his attacker was so exhausted he could not carry on. He could see his opponent's attacks before they were able to reach him properly, this was the beginning of his enlightenment. He defeated an armed attacker without injuring him, or getting hurt himself. For six years he refined his technique, and the basic movements of what would become known as the martial art of Aikido. Ueshiba practiced and taught Aikido until he was very old. After he passed away on April 26, 1969, he was declared a Sacred National treasure of Japan. There are currently more than one million Aikidoists in the world. Philosophy Ueshiba saw his aikido as "rooted less in techniques for achieving physical domination over others than in attempting to cultivate a spirit of loving protection for all things. The extent to which Ueshiba's religious and philosophical convictions influenced the direction of technical developments and changes within the corpus of aikido techniques is not known, but many aikido practitioners believe that perfect mastery of aikido would allow one to defend against an attacker without causing serious or permanent injury." (www.grandmaster.cc)
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