Aikido is a famous Japanese martial art developed and founded by Morihei Ueshiba. He is often known as The Great Teacher by many Aikido students. Aikido is all physical in itself, and is a self-defense martial art as well as a sport.
It basically involves some throws and joint locks in order to gain control over an opponent. The martial art mainly focusses on using the dynamics of motion. In order to incapacitate the opponent, one focusses on using the opponent’s energy, throwing them away from you.
The art focusses on training a student on; physique development, spiritual relations, moral relations with the outside world and wisdom development. This is all done using both the physical energy and mind.
Renowned Aikido Tournaments
The introduction of Aikido as a sport was pioneered by Kenji Tomiki, one of the earliest students of Aikido. The reason behind making it a sport was to sharpen the skills and focus of many Japanese students pursuing higher education. The type of Aikido practiced in tournaments is called Tomiki-ryu, which involves the use of Kata, prearranged forms, involving the use of bare hands and rubber knife.
During the tournaments, events are separated into three, Kata, Randori and Team Events. Some events are further divided into the Aikido grades of Kyu or Dan grades. Aikido tournament are only held after every two years. The most recent Aikido tournaments include;
• 11th Aikido World Championships- August 21st-30th, 2015, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, Australia.
• 10th Aikido International World Championships- 2013, Osaka and Kawasaki City, Japan
• 9th Aikido World Championships- August 11th-14th, 2011, Brunel University, London, United Kingdom
• 8th Aikido World Championships-2009, Kyoto, Japan
• 7th Aikido World Championship- 2007, Vandalia, United Staes
Aikikai Foundation is the headquarters of the Aikido World Federation and was incorporated in 1940. All activities are coordinated from this headquarters based in Tokyo, Japan. It certifies and grades all Aikido sports instructors all over the world.
