Aikido is a subtle art. It is not loud or flashy. There are no punches to split the board, no high round kicks to the face, no arm bars to break the joints where submission or destruction are the only options.
Aikido is a martial art. But it’s not about fighting. Proper aikido will never appear in a ring. O’Sensei told us that. It’s not about walking into a bar and challenging and then kicking butt. It’s not about finding justifiable rage and then taking down someone who deserves it.
Aikido is a demanding art. It’s not something you can buy in a store: look at me, I have, I have, an outfit, so now, I am a martial artist. It’s not a weekend warrior sports tackle – someone – in – the – mud – elbow – to – the – face – while – you’re – climbing – for – a – tray. It’s not me … I looked … Chuck … Norris … now … I … know what to do.
The message of aikido is simple, but not popular. Aikido says that it is possible to defend against violence without inflicting violence in return. Aikido says that by harmonizing with violence, it can be redirected and spread. Aikido says that by remaining calm and centered like a rock in a stream, violence will flow, but the rock will remain undisturbed.
Aikido asks that we fundamentally change ourselves, not just apply a veneer. It asks us to accept our own clumsiness, our stiffness, our lack of coordination, to feel silly and laugh about it. He asks us to believe that we can learn a fluid and graceful way of moving under the stress of being attacked. He asks us to practice, practice, practice, invest our time. It not only asks that we learn to defend ourselves, but that we recognize and redirect our own violent tendencies.
O’Sensei, the founder of aikido, believed that if enough people learned the art of aikido, there would be no need for war. How can you go to war if you have taught yourself not to attack? Why would there be a war if everyone had accepted and learned to dance with their own fears?
Aikido is a subtle art, the liquid amber of the song of a red-winged blackbird that makes its way through the noise of highway traffic. But it is there, in perfect harmony, attuned to the quietly flowing matrix of peace that permeates the universe.