Is Aikido a Martial Art?

by Hoa Newens

​[This year we celebrate Tai Sai in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and could not hold class to properly remember O Sensei. Instead, we offer this in-depth examination of his legacy art.]
 
“Is Aikido a martial art?” may sound like a naïve question to many readers but is likely a serious inquiry for those who are on the threshold, about to leave, or enter into, Aikido training. For many other Aikidoka reading this essay, we hope that the question will spawn a deeper inquiry into the nature of their favorite martial art and reveal aspects that they had not considered in their training. This is a complex topic, so please bear with the lengthy discussion and references to other essays to supplement explanations made herein.

What Makes a Martial Art?

Before we dive into an examination of Aikido, let us establish some common ground in our understanding of the meaning of the term “martial art”.
 
Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have always fought each other over limited resources, in one-on-one clashes, or larger scale encounters. These conflicts may be intentional such as competition in sports or unforeseen such as in wars, but they all boil down to humans opposing each other. Over the centuries, this ongoing human activity has produced methods and techniques to end the conflict to one’s advantage. In modern times, these time-tested methods have been further refined and codified into arts.
 
Worldwide, there is a great variety of arts that can be grouped under the umbrella of martial arts, including wrestling, fencing, grappling, archery, boxing, etc. For the purpose of our exploration we will limit ourselves to Asian martial arts originating from China and Japan, Kungfu and Budo respectively, being the types that we have been personally exposed to over more than five decades of training. There are numerous Kungfu styles including Shaolin, Wing Chun, Hun Gar, Praying Mantis among external styles; Pa Kua, Hsing Yi and Tai Chi among the internal styles. Budo is also a generic term that groups together several Japanese martial arts including the popular Karate, Judo, Ju Jitsu, Kendo and Aikido, as well as Kempo, Iaido, and Kyudo. We should note the existence of a multitude of other noteworthy martial arts that are not within the scope of this essay.
 
Furthermore, it is our intent to focus our discussion on arts that yield benefits to humankind in the long-term, especially those that promote the development of the human potential. Therefore, we are excluding the military fighting arts and other killing arts, or similar arts designed explicitly to eliminate life.
 
Within this limited-scope foray into the martial arts, we have observed the following six constitutional characteristics of martial arts and propose that they make up the yardstick against which we measure other would be martial arts.

• Rigorous training of the body and mind.
• Heightened awareness.
• High risk tolerance.
• Adherence to strict code of ethics.
• Potential to resolve conflict or subdue others.
• Potential path to elevate the human spirit.

Below, we elaborate on these characteristics and use them as lenses to view Aikido.
 
Rigorous Training

Martial skills are generally acquired and honed during several years of rigorous physical and mental training involving a strict regimen of drills under often harsh conditions. Overcoming obstacles and constraints during the hard training helps the student garner sufficient energy, endurance and forbearance to break through the ego. This is a critical portal that leads to the transformation of the body and the mind into effective and efficient vessels that carry the techniques through completion. In the Chinese traditions, this is called “kung fu” (功夫), meaning “skill acquired as a result of hard work”.
 
For example, Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern Karate, was known as a demon of makiwara, striking it hundreds of times a day; he also often practiced katas for more than fifty times in succession. It was said that only one in ten trainees could keep up with this grueling pace for a few months at the Shotokan.
 
This aspect of martial training is de rigueur in traditional Aikido training such as in various uchi deshi programs in which the students live and train daily at the dojo under the close supervision of a teacher, such as Saito Morihiro Sensei at the Ibaraki Dojo. Furthermore, in the Iwama style of Aikido, the disciplined emphasis on kihon waza, with its precise and solid basic techniques, is a serious challenge for beginners. Sadly, in many modern Aikido schools, the rigors of training are nearly non-existent, and students come to class to work out just as going to the gym, whenever convenient.
 
We note that rigorous training in modern times can occur in various forms: committing to a daily training regime for the long-term despite the demands of a busy professional career or family life; or despite physical or mental handicap. Prioritizing training need over all other personal development and social needs is an aspect of hard training.

​Heightened Awareness

In the early days of humankind, the world was a treacherous place filled with dangers. In order to survive, humans developed physical skills to combat other humans as well as predators. The most basic of those skills was, and still is, awareness of the potential dangers lurking around them. Ironically, awareness comes naturally from fear: the fear of being hurt, the fear of loss, the fear of being diminished.  
 
Owing to fear of injury, the hazards of martial training cause the mind to stop its internal chatting temporarily and clear the way for consciousness to emerge and deal with the situation effectively. Such clear-head moments happen during sparring or randori training, for example. The instant the student is pulled back into the mental chatter, he loses touch with the reality of here and now and fails to perceive the oncoming strike that would hit him. After suffering through several hits over time, fear of injury is gradually transformed into awareness.
 
Aikido students have ample opportunities to grow their awareness, for example during ukemi, when they “receive” the techniques, especially the hard techniques in kihon waza mentioned above. A momentary lapse of attention can easily cause a severe sprain or bruise. Ukemi helps the students cultivate their awareness.
 
Ironically, as skills improve and teachers implement safer training environment, the need for heightened awareness diminishes, and the training becomes a rut. The martial edge can wear out and strip the martial badge off Aikido.
 
High Risk Tolerance

Martial artists constantly learn new skills and test their mettle by pushing their limits. When the student’s abilities do not measure up, failures and possible injuries result, and provide the lessons that need to be learned. Any skilled martial artist must have undergone her share of injuries during her training career.
 
Seasoned martial artists understand this “no pain no gain” rule and actually seek danger in their training. These artists are not fear-driven, they have gone beyond fear and are flirting with injury, loss and potential death to sharpen and maintain the edge. It may appear that these individuals are gambling; the reality is that, in their mind, there is no doubt, but certainty that they will find the way to get through the danger unscathed. It’s a sort of self-confidence that eventually rises to the level of trust in a divine benevolence.
 
Due to its nature, Aikido is generally more attractive to the mature and intellectual segment of the population, which consists largely of risk averse individuals. This is not the type of individual who would take ten high falls to wake up instead of the cup of joe; or the type that would decide “No mat? No problem, we’ll demo on the hardwood floor”. The intellectually inclined students should note that the thinking process is useful for problem solving in life, but it can also create problems where none exists; the mind can imagine potential problems and stifle action. Seasoned martial artists are aware of this mental handicap and pursue no-mind (mu-shin) states.

​Adherence to Strict Code of Ethics

Martial artists can fight each other to their death, but they follow strict rules of conduct in doing so. In the Orient, this code is built around the concept of proper behavior that reflects the five cardinal virtues of Confucianism: Compassion; Righteousness; Propriety; Wisdom; and Trustworthiness. (See chapter “First Rei, Then Waza”, in the book Aikido Insights, 2010). Proper behavior is centered in the notion of respect for all things, since each and every thing exists to fulfill a specific role in the universal scheme.
 
The code of conduct delineates the difference between a combat art and a martial art: such is the difference between Bujutsu and Budo.
 
Aikido, as a Budo, includes certain forms of etiquette and codes of behavior that must be taught and practiced and kept alive should it remains a martial art. They are an outward reflection of the heart of the martial art, and their dilution would certainly lead to the demise of the art. To keep the flame alive, we need to reinvigorate this soft aspect of the art and vigilantly practice Rei.
 
Potential to Resolve Conflict

This is by far the most visible and popular aspect of a martial art: how efficiently one can take down an opponent. As mentioned above, martial arts were born from the need to deal with conflict. Martial artists resolve conflict using different approaches. Those who practice arts centered on fighting methods often choose to confront the opposition physically and attempt to subdue them. More experienced martial artists may choose to modify their behavior and give a chance for the conflict to de-escalate first before engaging in physical altercation. Still, more mature martial artists who have realized the essence of their art, may hardly ever encounter a conflict since they live in such a way that pre-empts conflict from occurring around them.
 
Aikido excels in conflict resolution because it gets directly to the gist of the conflict and helps participants work through a resolution, rather than applying the standard approach of defeat-and-subdue at the outset. Aikido adepts understand that when they hit back, they create a pendulum effect that perpetuates the conflict; instead, they reach out to receive the aggression then redirect it to a neutral ground. Furthermore, Aikido operates at the level of energy, beyond forms. The practice of Aikido is centered on sensing the aggressive energy and creating an energy pattern (technique) that leads the aggressor to neutral ground. What confuses students is that teachers use this model without discussing it explicitly. The use of Ki is embedded in the way that Aikido is traditionally practiced, hence there is no need to call it out. For more information, refer to the essays “Aikido as the Ultimate Martial Art” and “The Art of Peace” in the book Aikdo Insights (2010).
 
From another standpoint, this aspect of Aikido is also its weakness: its techniques appear incompatible with the popular view of martial arts in which a fast take-down is all that matters. In other words, a widespread view is that Aikido techniques are not effective in the ring or in the streets. Based on my decades of training in this art, this is a partially correct observation. It is true that Aikido techniques were not designed for fighting purposes, therefore they are not the best ones to use in combat.
​

However, Aikido techniques can be modified to make it a first-class fighting art in which the goal is to subdue an opponent in the most efficient manner. These modifications pertain not to the content, but to the forms and the training method:

1. Streamline the path of techniques to almost linear: condense the circular and flowing motion into linear spirals, such as when an advanced student demonstrates kihon waza.
2. Unleash the atemi: these are often implicit or used to fill the gaps in Uke’s openings during training.
3. Add other forms of attacks. Normal Aikido practice relies on a small group of codified attacks that represent aggressive energy (due to the focus on awase). The training curriculum needs to be supplemented with other attacks from the reality of combat.
4. Add sparring to the training. This would be the most radical modification but is needed to simulate the combat environment. One needs to train for what one wants to do best.
5. Add high impact training. This may include punching bag, makiwara and fall on hard ground. One would need to harden the body to prepare for the potential impact with another hardened body.
6. Minimize escape. This may mean restricting the kokyunage techniques to those that are harder to recover from; we are wanting to take the opponent down rather that allowing them to effect a roll safely. Students may want to focus on joint locks and pins.

 
As can be seen, there are substantial changes that are required should one wants to convert Aikido into a fighting art. A shortcut may be to refer to the precursor form of Aikido, Aikijutsu or its cousins. However, we should understand that once we make Aikido a combat art, the techniques become incongruent with the underlying philosophy and principles as established by the Founder and will cause internal conflict within the martial artist.
 
Another approach is to patiently continue training in the current mode: the strength of Aikido is that long term practice will gradually transform the martial artist into a moving oasis of peace which can quickly pacify unrest brewing in its vicinity.  Aikido essentially transforms the serious student into a human being who can live in harmony with its environment and who can accomplish any task efficiently. (For further reading, refer to the essay “What Aikido Does to You” in Aikido Insights).

Potential Path to Elevate the Human Spirit

Any serious human endeavor will ultimately lead to the question of what we are here for. If Aikido is to be of benefit to humankind, it should help elevate the human consciousness to its potential divine level, or at least point out the path to achieve that potential. We will let these famous Budo teachers elucidate this point further below.
 
Gichin Funakoshi of Karate declared: “The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.”
 
Jigoro Kano of Judo stated: “Judo is the way to the most effective use of both physical and spiritual strength. By training you in attack and defense it refines your body and your soul and helps to make the spiritual essence of Judo a part of your very being. In this way you are able to perfect yourself and contribute something of value to the world. This is the final goal of Judo discipline.”
 
The renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi wrote: “There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”
 
Ip Man of Wing Chun explained: “The ideal in martial arts is humanitarianism. Accomplishment uses diligence as a goal”.
 
Morihei Ueshiba of Aikido professes: “Aikido is the study of the spirit. Aikido is the subtle breath linking the spiritual and material. . .The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit”.
 
In our humble view, Aikido training provides feedback for the participants to help them find their true selves and understand each other. Should we misunderstand this purpose and strive to defeat opponents, we are not promoting the art that was created by its founder, O Sensei.
 
When a physical training art does not point the way for its participants to reach their inborn potential, one would be hard-pressed to classify it a martial art. Among the six constitutional dimensions for classifying an art as a martial art, this final one is the most restrictive. Throughout the world, there exist a multitude of disciplines that train the body and the mind in the ways of fighting and winning physical contests, however, in our mind, few qualify as martial arts due to them not meeting this one criterion. It may very well be that our view of martial arts is overly sophisticated; we regard martial arts as arts of living, as worthy lifepaths of men/women on their eternal quest.
 
Throughout this essay we have made a distinction between martial arts and fighting arts not to denigrate or claim superiority of any arts. We hope to point out the differences to help all genuine seekers to understand the specific art that they are pursuing, and also to advise caution when comparing performance.
 
We let the readers categorize Aikido any way they want since this label has no effect on the intrinsic value of O Sensei’s legacy to humanity. We noted though, that this legacy has eroded over the years and hope that the gradual loss that we have noted in our observations above can be shored up by students and teachers of this great art. These are the key areas that deserve our attention:

1. Reintroduce the rigors of training - More traditional uchideshi programs; tanren uchi; kangeiko or training under similar harsh conditions; re-emphasize kihon waza, with emphasis on kokyu and appropriate use of atemi; strengthen attendance requirements; reinforce testing requirements.
2. Relax the focus on safety to introduce a healthy level of risk - Train in confined space, on hard mats, or outdoor on uneven ground; quicken the training pace occasionally; conduct more demos and allow senior instructors to use real blades.
3. Reinforce code of conduct (Rei) - Strictly enforce dojo etiquette and code of conduct; clarify sempai-kohai responsibilities.
4. Strengthen ukemi – Constantly remind ukes to carry out their role with full awareness and be ready to take tobukemi as needed.

 
We conclude with this instruction from Saito Morihiro Shihan in his book Traditional Aikido – Vol. 5 – Training Works Wonders:
 
“In summary, to get to know Aikido is get to know yourself. I want you to consider Aikido your mirror. You should remember that the essence of Aikido lies right at your feet”.
 
Hoa Newens
May 1, 2020