In Japanese,
Ai means Harmony,
Ki means spirit or universal power and
Do means how or the way of. So Aikido means -
The way of harmony with your spirit.
Aim of the Site
My aim for this site is to try to explain how this meaning and other Aikido principles can be used to improve our everyday lives, you can goto
aikido everyday to find out more about this and also about using Aikido in daily life! Also the site will explain what harmony is and how and why we must use it in our aikido. View
harmony in aikido to get more details!
This site also has facts on Iwama Ryu Aikido & Takemusu Aikido from around the world, seminar information with details on Iwama Aikido seminars, news, picture galleries with sensei from Takemusu Iwama Aikido GB and an Aikido directory where you can add your own Aikido site.
I think most people want more in their everyday lives, and I think harmony within our lives will help us to stop this wanting. It's sometimes hard to find harmony but the more we look, I think, the easier it gets.
There are a lot of new things happening on the website so keep your eyes peeled for all the new items, you can subcribe to the Iwama Aikido - Aikido in Everyday Life RSS news feed for all of the up to date info.
O'Sensei and Iwama
The founder of Aikido Morihei Ueshiba, or
O'Sensei (Great Master), lead an extraordinary life and was a great man!
He was born in 1883 and died in 1969. Click on the OSensei link to find out more about the life he lead or check out the links section!
Iwama is about 100 km north-east of Tokyo and is considered to be the birth place of Aikido!
O'Sensei lived and trained in Iwama from 1942 and it was around this time that the word Aikido started to be used.
O'Sensei had a lot of students from different parts of the world but there were few, if any, who trained with O'Sensei as much as
Saito Sensei did. Saito Sensei lived in Iwama on a plot of land given to him by O'Sensei, next to the Iwama dojo. He had a rare insight into what Aikido was meant to be!
Iwama Style Aikido
Morihiro Saito Sensei studied under O'Sensei for more than 23 years and was the keeper of the Aiki Shrine, in Iwama, and Dojo Cho, of the Iwama Dojo, after O'Sensei passed away. It is therefore safe to say that Saito's Iwama Aikido is Aikido that hasn't been changed and Aikido that follows O'Sensei's Aikido (As long as it is taught with the correct philosophy in mind). Saito Sensei lived from 1928 to 2002 and was loved and admired around the world. Find out more about
Saito Sensei.
Hitohiro Saito Sensei (son of Saito Sensei) has now founded a new organisation the Iwama Shinshin Aiki Shurenkai Kaicho
Iwama Aikido and, like his father did, he teaches regulary in different parts of the world. Click on the above link to find out more!
Takemusu Iwama Aikido GB
Takemusu Iwama Aikido GB is aikido in the UK which follows Saito Sensei's teaching through
Sensei Tony Sargeant (First Principal) and
Sensei Paul McGlone (Second Principal). Click on the above link to find out more. You can also view a list of the Takemusu Iwama Aikido sensei
here.
What is Takemusu? Find out more about Takemusu and
Takemusu Aikido
I've attended some courses where Sensei Sargeant has talked about using aikido in everyday life, about certain moments with Saito Sensei and about stories Saito used to tell of O'Sensei. I have tried to use these thoughts as well as my own to construct Iwama Aikido - Aikido in Everyday Life!
