The sphere of Martial Arts is one of the most important gifts of Asia to the world. Who will not remember Bruce Lee and the reality that he was first and foremost a martial arts competitor before becoming a film star? Martial arts pictures are a huge hit with the escalating popularity of Asian cinema like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and more recently ‘The House of the Flying Daggers’.

The Chinese are the first nation that come to mind when it you think of these things, but the Japanese are equally as sporty with a rich heritage of body contact sports in their past. Modern Japan still gives honor to the martial arts by holding tournaments and marketing their sports abroad,

One of these is Aikido. It is interesting to note the fact that the word comes from three Japanese words from which one derives the meaning of the one word. Ai signifies ‘joining’, Ki means ’spirit’ and Do means ‘way’. From this we can see why Aikido lies beyond only the physical talents of it students, particularly since its first proponent, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.

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 easily. This might appear strange but it really works. In attacking an opponent, the aim of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the opponent so as to be able to tackle him where he is weakest and in so doing, divert or immobilize him, but never to kill him.

This is where Aikido becomes an art form. Art is something delightful to look at and something constructive and Aikido is all that. At least one of the contestants involved in the combat is searching for concord and concord can only be achieved if there is grace in the actions. The moves may be premeditated, but there is an air of finesse in carrying out these movements. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that emanates peace. The ‘art of peace’ is what they call it in Aikido and it is one of the most affirmative influences of Aikido on its students and to everyone else who decides to find out about this Japanese martial art.

Some of the techniques in Aikido include the following.

Ikkyo is the first technique. Using this technique, you manipulate an adversary by using one hand to hold his elbow and one to hold near the wrist. This action is supposed to allow you to pin your opponent down to the ground.

Nikyo, the second technique, is when you perform a wrist lock which enables you to twist the arm of your opponent which will in turn cause 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 idea.

When you are studying Aikido, it is important to keep in mind that, along with building physical strength, you will need to improve your mind to be able to overpower your adversary. Just like in any art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to perfect the art of Aikido. The chief thing to remember 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 they can.

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