Yoshinkan Aikido is not a sport. Aikido is the development and strengthening of the body and mind, and the practical side of Aikido must never be forgotten.

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What is Aikido?

Introduction of Aikido

Aikido is one of the martial arts, which originated in Japan. After World War II, Aikido rapidly spread and nowadays has become more and more popular in many countries. "The Aikido-boom" can be seen around the world. Why is Aikido now loved by all different generations, regardless of nationality, culture, language, etc.?
Aikido Yoshinkan
The principal of Aikido is not to resist the law of nature, but to harmonize without using physical strength.
Aikido techniques are applied by using your own power together with your enemy's power. This means, no matter if you are strong or weak, big or small, male or female, young or old, you can do Aikido without having to be a top athlete.
The basic style of Aikido training is "practicing pre-arranged form (Kata)". Two partners practice the form of the technique becoming Shite (the person applying the technique) and Uke (the one receiving the technique). By training this way repeatedly, Aikido techniques are acquired and the training is more practical for students. In Kata-style training there is no competition, with no feelings of winning or losing.
You always train to improve yourself with a pure heart and a pure mind in harmony with your partner. Aikido is called "The martial art of harmony".

History of Aikido

Aikido Yoshinkan
Aikido derives from Daito-Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu.

It is said that Daito-Ryu was founded 800 years ago by Shinra-Saburo Minamoto no Yoshimitsu. The Kai Genji Takeda Family (one of the Samurai local rulers) preserved Daito-Ryu as a secret martial art within the family. Nobody knew even the name of this martial art until Sokaku Takeda Sensei began teaching the art outside of the family in the late 19th century.
By studying Daito-Ryu and other martial arts on top of his own ideas Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba Sensei, who was an excellent student of Sokaku Takeda. Aikido started its dissemination after WWII as a martial art suitable for modern times in terms of spirit and technique.
Since then, people have rapidly become interested in Aikido. For this reason, Business Professionals founded Aikido Yoshinkai and built the Yoshinkan dojo to support Gozo Shioda Sensei.
Aikido Yoshinkan