There are endless discussions about what Aikido is, what it’s origin is, how effective it is, and so on. In a dojo these questions are somewhat relevant too, because they determine what is taught and how it is taught.

The broad range of people that run dojo’s and teach create a wealth of opportunities for students to study and learn. Which is a good thing.

But the discussions about the questions remain. One challenge is that there is no single source to go to for answers. The founder isn’t there to answer the question, and the conditions today are completely different from the time he lived in. So we all have our private opinions, and we need to respect those.

In our dojo the opinion taught is more or less the following.

  1. Aikido is what is taught and described by Hombu, and mainly by Doshu and his son.
  2. Hombu has a wide range of senior instructors that all teach differently, but as they represent Hombu we accept it to display the breadth of Aikido.
  3. If we observe the many teachers over decades we see just as many differences, so again we accept that.
  4. We study to find the principles in the techniques. We try to avoid being judgmental about what we observe.
  5. There is a body of techniques that are trained as being basic. Their execution is described quite precisely. We look at this as a foundation for the learning process, not as a limit on what Aikido is.
  6. We recognize that the techniques have their foundation in other martial arts. So we see Aikido as a development or evolution.
  7. We recognize that the harmonious aspects of Aikido arise later in its development. We recognize the statements by the founder that the purpose of Aikido is to add to peace through training. Train a lot, train with others, develop sensitivity to who your partners are and what they need. Build a positive world view on that.
  8. We recognize that Aikido is taught in different manners. Some teachers stress the practical value and they have highly respected Aikidoka as their example. Other teachers stress being soft, modest, avoiding harm to others. They have teachers as examples that are just as respected.
  9. We study soft and harmonious, but with efficiency and effectiveness in mind. We do not train warriors, we train people to cooperate and respect each other.

These ideas are rooted in many different experiences. As a teacher I find myself expressing to students where these ideas came from. For example: once Endo Sensei asked students at a seminar ‘did you come to hurt your partner?’. Of course people replied they weren’t. His next question was ‘then why are you trying so hard to do so?’. Years later a Krav Maga instructor came to our dojo to demonstrate his techniques. He knew about Aikido and apologized for the hardness of his techniques. But what we observed were many techniques we teach and study, just doused in a destructive interpretation.

We live in an era of online information. We can observe quickly what other martial arts and combat sports do. Looking at BJJ I believe that Aikido does not have an answer to their beautiful, smooth techniques. They follow principles of Aikido: be smooth, go with the flow, don’t waste energy going against the force. But to my opinion Aikido would not ‘win’ against their techniques. Looking at MMA I believe that in terms of strength, endurance and aggression they are exceptional. But the amount of aggression needed in the fights makes for repeated demonstration of what it leads to: still trying to destroy an athlete when he is already out cold. I do not want to train that attitude, nor the techniques involved.

Which brings me to the paradigm in our dojo: train to be a better person. Every day you spend in the dojo like that is worthwhile.