AIKIDO

 “The way of peace and harmony”

Aikido is a martial art founded by Morihei Ueshiba (O Sensei).  Aikido teaches us the peaceful, non-violent resolution of conflict by combining practical self-defense movements from the traditional Japanese sword, spear, ju-jitsu and other martial arts.  From the first moment of practice, the emphasis is on the integration of mind, body and spirit.  In Aikido, one never meets force with force, but skillfully avoids confrontation to harmonize with the attacker’s movement.

Since strength and speed are not essential elements of Aikido, no muscles are necessary.  Consequently it is an ideal martial art for men and women of all physical abilities.

 The Aikido program at Asian Martial Arts is affiliated with Cleveland Aikikai which is directly linked to the world headquarters in Japan (Hombu Dojo).  Cleveland Aikikai is a part of the national organization – Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU).  

The ASU organization was founded by Mitsugi Saotome Shihan.  Master Saotome has devoted his entire adult life to the study and teaching of Aikido.  He began as a special apprentice to

O Sensei in 1955 and continued for 15 years until the founder's death in April of 1969.

In 1975 Master Saotome decided to leave his highly respected position as a senior instructor at World Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo to come to the United States. When asked about his decision to leave the home of his birth he responded: "The eyes of the world are on the United States. This country is a great experiment; a melting pot of people from many different cultural backgrounds living together, the world condensed into one nation. The goal of Aikido and O Sensei's dream is that all the peoples of the world live together as one family, in harmony with each other and their environment. The United States has the opportunity to set a great example."