Aikido is a Japanese martial art which primary focuses on grappling. Aikido is performed by blending the motion of the attacker and re-addressing the force exerted by him rather than defending it head-on. The defender uses the momentum of the attacker against him by entering and turning movements and finishes with throws or joint locks. It is ranked among one of the best Japanese grappling arts.

Basically Aikido is a combination of throws, joint locks and some striking. Although being a defensive martial art, most of the striking moves of Aikido are used only to prepare students to defend them and are not particularly a part of the normal training regime.

Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba, who primarily developed it in the 1920’s through the 1930’s by blending the elements of the traditional martial arts he had learned. The core styles from which Aikido derived from are Daitō-ryū aiki-jūjutsu, Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū and Judo. All these styles were studied and mastered by Ueshiba from 1901 to 1911. A major influence on the development of Aikido was the religious influence of Ōmoto-kyō, a religion whose philosophy of extending love and compassion especially to those who seek to harm others made Aikido what it is today. Aikido demonstrates this philosophy in its emphasis on mastering martial arts so that one may receive an attack and harmlessly redirect it. In an ideal resolution, not only is the receiver unharmed, but so is the attacker.

Since it was just developed as a means of defence and originated from styles which did not have formal competitions, thus Aikido never made its way to competition status and was just used as a means of self defence or part of combinations in combat sport. However some forms of Aikido do carry out competitions but these are just conducted for the sole purpose of testing the students and studying their weaknesses and nothing else.

Like most Japanese martial arts, Aikido involves both mental and physical training. The physical training of Aikido is quite distinct as it covers both the physical fitness and the conditioning of the practitioner. The students are taught to execute and absorb rolls and throws safely as a large portion of the training consists of throws and take-downs, after that the student is allowed to spar freely against different opponents; sometimes more than one and even accompanied by weapons. In addition to that, the physical exercise also involves stretching and weight lifting as it helps the student’s flexibility and helps in the movements of all muscles.

The katas (forms) of Aikido involve two practitioners in which the receiver, who initiates an attack against the person who applies technique to reverse and neutralises the attack by Aikido technique.

Whereas most schools of martial arts take either the side of largely defensive or mostly offensive, aikido straddles a fine line in between these two schools. This form of martial art actually considers the protection of both the defender and the attacker, following under the general guidelines of conflict resolution as opposed to dominance. It more closely resembles a transfer of control than an affirmation or exercise in power. Because of this, this art deserves a closer look as its fundamentals hold the potential for far reaching applications.

Aikido may not involve brutal force, but it still necessitates a great deal of training and preparation in order to reach a mastery level; and to avoid injuring oneself in the process. And even at these senior levels, older students may argue the legitimacy of certain levels of mastery as different influences have created several different corollary methods. However, the overall principle remains true to the core.

Although it has been found that Aikido has a very low significance in MMA but some Mixed Martial Artists have applied Aikido as one of their styles and have succeeded in doing so, namely

* Sumin Yune
* Greg Jackson (Notable MMA trainer)
* Jason DeLucia
* Jacky Steele

Aikido is quite popular in Pakistan and authentic Aikido dojos can be found all over the country. For information about Aikido dojos in the country visit:

http://www.aikido-world.com/dir-dojos/pakistan.htm