合 – ai – joining, unifying, combining, fitting
気 – ki – spirit, energy, mood, morale
道 – dō – way, path
“The Way of Harmony of the Spirit” is one way that “Aikido” may be translated into English. Aikido is often translated as “the way of unifying’ or “the way of harmonious spirit, and is based on a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs.
Aikido is distillation of centuries of Japanese martial knowledge; An art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury. Aikido is about harmonizing with your opponent to bring peaceful resolutions to situations involving conflict. It is a comprehensive system of throwing, joint-locking, striking and pinning techniques using opponents own energy to gain control of them or to throw them; Aikido is not a static art, and places an emphasis on motion and the dynamics of movement with turning movements.
Aikido is at the same time very complex and yet very simple. O Sensei emphasized the moral and spiritual aspects of this art, placing great weight on the development of harmony and peace.
