The subject of oriental Martial Arts is one of the most important presents of Asia to the world. Who will not bear in mind that Bruce Lee was first and foremost a martial arts sports person before becoming a movie star?

Martial arts pictures are a colossal 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 when you think of such things, but the Japanese are equally as sporty with a rich heritage of body contact sports in their past. Contemporary Japan still gives honour to the martial arts by holding tournaments and marketing their martial arts in foreign countries.

Aikido is one of these. It is interesting to note the fact that the word comes from three Japanese characters from which is derived the one word. Ai means ‘joining’, Ki means ‘spirit’ and Do means ‘manner’.

From this we can see why Aikido lies beyond just the physical skills of it students, particularly since its first advocate, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.

In Aikido, one is not educated in violence rather, 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.

When approaching an opponent, the objective of the Aikido practitioner is to become one with the adversary so as to become able to tackle him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or immobilize him, but never to slay him.

This is how 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 involved in the combat is searching for concord and concord can only be attained if there is grace in the proceedings.

The moves might be calculated, but there is an air of grace in performing these actions. Not a feminine grace, but a grace that emanates 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 everyone else who decides to learn about this Japanese martial art.

Some of the moves in Aikido involve the following:

Ikkyo is the first process. Using this technique, you direct an opponent 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 adversary down to the ground.

Nikyo, the second technique, is when you accomplish a wrist lock which enables you to turn the arm of your adversary which will in turn induce nerve pressure.

Sankyo, the third technique, is a process that creates upward-spiraling tension throughout the arm, elbow and shoulder. There are many other moves but the first three are enough to give you a fundamental idea.

When studying Aikido, it is crucial to keep in mind that, along with building physical strength, you will have to improve your mind to be able to overpower your antagonist. Just| like in any other art form, it takes a lot of training and discipline to reach the summit 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 resolve to give honour to the art by performing it in the best manner that they can.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is now concerned with Mixed Martial Arts For Kids. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Mixed Martial Arts Quotes