| Aikido means "The way of harmony with the spirit" | | | | indeed to be claim to the art of peace. For all intents |
| and is considered a non-violent form of martial art. The | | | | and purposes however, the philosophical and spiritual |
| Aikido spirit is about cultivating relaxation and a serenity | | | | foundation of Aikido is about maintaining a constant |
| throughout everyday life to be able to harness this | | | | state of relaxation. |
| virtue in actual physical combat. | | | | It is in this relaxed state that the Aikido practitioner is |
| Aikido is actually a modern Japanese martial art and | | | | able to perform difficult throws and maneuvers as |
| the Aikido spirit continues to live on today years after it | | | | taught by the martial art. The relaxed state can be |
| was developed by Morihei Eushiba. Noteworthy about | | | | attributed to a deep unshakable peace free of |
| this particular martial art is that the Aikido spirit is | | | | aggression. The concept is that when we are tense |
| cultivated within its students so that there is a spiritual | | | | and not relaxed, we needlessly waste energy on |
| and philosophical development that happens; which in | | | | aggression and force. By going with the flow and not |
| turn becomes the basis of the combative art. Modern | | | | being afraid of what can or cannot happen to us, we |
| day students of Aikido testify that they bring the Aikido | | | | cultivate a peace with a relaxed demeanor as its |
| spirit with them throughout ordinary mundane activities, | | | | direct consequence. |
| forming a bridge between principles of how to tackle | | | | The Aikido spirit aims to cultivate a mental discipline, |
| everyday life and combat moves on the training mat. | | | | develop character and self-confidence with the end |
| This spiritual and philosophical basis of the Aikido spirit | | | | goal of being able to maintain peace and relaxation. It |
| that cultivates relaxation and the peaceful control of | | | | believes that in peace can one realize true power: The |
| aggression are attributed to the founder's background | | | | power to spread peace further and the strength to be |
| in Omoto-kyo religion. Omoto-kyo is a modern | | | | able to withstand the onslaught of everyday situations. |
| Japanese religion, which is said to be an offshoot of | | | | The basics in passing on the Aikido spirit can be done |
| Shintoism. Omoto-kyo followers believe in beautifying | | | | through practical applications that clearly show that a |
| the world with art because they believe that art brings | | | | relaxed demeanor is more effective than an |
| humans closer to the divine. | | | | aggressive one. |
| Aside from this, the Omoto-kyo followers are pacifists | | | | One such physical example is the exercise of trying to |
| who espouse peace over war. This is the parallel | | | | cause someone to lose their balance. To be able to |
| between Omoto-kyo and Aikido. That is why the | | | | topple off an opponent usually means that we should |
| Aikido spirit is often paradoxically referred to as the art | | | | be physically stronger and in some cases larger so |
| of peace. One may wonder about the sanity behind | | | | that superior physical strength through muscle |
| the fact that a martial art which was in all intentions | | | | contraction is the traditional measure of victory. |
| created for combat and winning over the enemy can | | | | |