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 fact that he was first and foremost a martial arts competitor before being a film star?

Martial arts pictures are a huge hit with the ever-increasing 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 such things, but the Japanese are just 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 promoting their martial arts 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 means ‘joining’, Ki signifies ‘spirit’ and Do means ‘way’. From this we can see why Aikido lies beyond only the physical talents of it students, especially since its first proponent, Ueshiba, focused on the spiritual and philosophical development of his students.

In Aikido, one is not trained in violence as a substitute, one is taught to be in concord with the adversary so that you are able to defeat him more easily. This might seem odd but it actually works. In approaching an opponent, the goal of the Aikido practitioner is to be one with the opponent so as to be able to attack him where he is weakest and in so doing, deflect or put him out of action, but never to kill him.

This is where 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 people involved in the combat is searching for harmony and concord can only be achieved if there is elegance 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 insight.

When studying Aikido, it is important to bear in mind that, along with building physical strength, you will need to improve your mind to be able to overpower your opponent. Just like in any art form, it takes a great deal of practice and self-control to perfect the art of Aikido.

The chief thing to remember is, that anyone who wants to get into the art, should have the resolve to give honor to the art by performing it in the best way possible.

Owen Jones, the writer 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