Aikido was developed in the early part of last century by the late Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) often referred to as O-Sensei (or “great teacher”).
O-Sensei mastered various forms of martial arts, most notably Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (unarmed defense), Kenjitsu (sword) and Sojitsu (spear) on his path to establishing Aikido. O-Sensei devoted himself to hard physical conditioning and the practice of martial arts. In spite of his impressive physical and martial capabilities, however, he felt dissatisfied. He began delving into religions in hopes of finding a deeper significance to life.
In the late 1920’s O-Sensei began to diverge from the harder marital arts, partly due to his involvement with the Ōmoto-kyō religion. He wanted to develop an art which was noncompetitive and less destructive than his previous training. By combining his martial training with his ideologies, he created the modern martial art of Aikido. Ueshiba decided on the name “Aikido” in 1942.
Whilst the technical side of Aikido is rooted in those styles of jujitsu, sword and spear arts, many Aikido techniques are the result of Master Ueshiba’s own innovation.
Throughout his life O-Sensei continued to develop Aikido and his styles of training changed as he became softer yet more powerful in his training.
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“True victory is victory over the self!”— Morihei Ueshiba
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“Opponents confront us continually, but actually there is no opponent there. Enter deeply into an attack and neutralise it as you draw that misdirected force into your own sphere.” — Morihei Ueshiba
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