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| You
want to know, what is Aikido? |
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And that is possible?!
Yes! Aikido is different than all other martial arts. You don't need to be strong, big or fast. It wouldn't help you anyhow if you meet someone stronger, bigger or faster than you. But you can use the powers of Nature and defend the attacker with his own force - instead of using your own strength, you use the attacker's force against him.
Harry
laughs: I have already defended boys from
3rd class. His
friend Danilo explains: If
we practise often we can defend ourselves.
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Yunus says: I can use self defense techniques when somebody attacks me. But: It's not enough if the attacker is really big and strong.
Anyway, it's funny to train together with the big ones.
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Is
is true that we practise with a Sword?
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Yes!
Süheda and Harry like it very much to train the sword.
Marcel
tells: When
you
grab the sword you almost feel like a knight. It's also good to defend
yourself if anybody attacks you with his sword and by chance you have
yours
with you, then you can draw it.
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let's be serious - Yunus remembers: When I
started sword excercises I liked it very much and I did not want to do
anything else. But I know now that we have to learn also hand
techniques,
because you cannot always take your sword with you.
You actually can defend just with your hands against a sword attack... |
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And
my little brother? He said: You
train so often with swords because you want to play "Lord of the Rings"!
Do you want to learn more about swords, fencing and sword excercises in aikido? |
What should we do not to hurt anybody in the training?
Yeah,
there are some clear and strict rules which we always obey.
You
should not fool around. Marcel reminds us: We
should stay serious during training. When you fool around you cannot
learn
aikido.
Yunus
adds: Everybody can be gay and merry, but
in aikido you shouldn't horse around, you should concentrate properly.
That's
why we rarely talk on the mat. But sometimes we meet outside of the dojo
to talk and to have fun. Click
if you want to see some pictures from such a meeting.
Last but not least: our attitude towards our partners is very important.
Want to read more about the rules?
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Here
you can see excercises with a bokken.
But who are those men? They are father, Ueshiba Morihei, and son, Ueshiba Kisshomaru (the Japanese write the family name first). |
| Who
invented aikido?
Aikido
is founded by Ueshiba Morihei. |
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Ueshiba served also in the army and he has seen true war. This has changed him forever. He refused to be violent and decided to develop a new martial art which should be neither aggressive nor lethal, but nonetheless truly effective. And this was the beginning of aikido.
When he died at April 26th, 1969, O'Sensei (Great Teacher) was already a well-known and reverend master with many disciples all over the world. At that time Aikikai with Hombu Dojo (Head quaters) in Tokyo, Japan, was a strong and respected worldwide aikido organisation. After his death Aikikai was lead by his son, Kisshomaru. When Kisshomaru died in 1999, his son, Ueshiba Moriteru, became the leader of Aikikai (aikido doshu = Leader of the Way).
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In
the
meantime several aikido styles have been developed. There are also
different
organisations and schools.
And
it spread all over the world. It reminds me of O'Sensei's words:
"I
want
to build a bridge which connects all the different coutries by the
harmony
and love of aikido".
He
left
us a very special martial art, which can be practiced also by children.
Want to see pictures of aikidokas from other countries?
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How
does a typical training
look
like?
Want to know? |
| Now we told you quite a lot. And maybe you think it sounds a little like wizardry... Yes! That's why there are so few people practicing aikido - most of them simply don't believe it can really work. Before you can get the proof you have to go a long way of hard work and sweat. Not everyone can stand so much effort! |  |
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We are sometimes very tired after training... |
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To
train again. To learn something new.
Julia will go on with aikido: I want to learn everything to defend myself. So does Arne: I learn a martial art to be able to defend myself and also to have fun. And Yunus: Aikido is a very fine martial art! |
Of
course!
Just
come and try if you like it. Check if Yunus is right saying:
I tell
you it's great!
The teenager are rather reserved, p.e. Sven: At first I did not expect too much and I was surprised that it's much better than I thought. The techniques are more complex than in my imagination, but in the training you can always ask the teacher or the more experienced ones.
Pascal wants to encourage you to join us: You should try it. We don't hurt ourselves or others and we learn nice movements. I like the hand movements very much.
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And
you don't need anything, just a sword and a staff.
It's different than in other martial arts, as you can see here... |
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| Is it true that children and teenagers took part in aikido demonstrations? |  |
Yes,
and you can see some pictures of them. Just click here! |
Want to read more what the young aikidokas have to say?
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Can we see some more techniques?
Yes!
Here is a short movie and
an
image
series.
And
if you want more, you can visit our "adult"
website.
Your
parents have also some questions?
Here
we prepared some links
for them.
Participated
in creating these texts:
Arne
Danilo
Gabriel
Harry
Jann
Julia
Lucas
Pascal
Marcel
Reto
Süheda
Sven
Timo
Yunus
Agata
& Tadek