AikiWeb Aikido Forums - View Single Post - Article: Aikido as Budo by George S. Ledyard

mike lee · 06-24-2002, 10:19 AM

I just quickly scanned the entire "atemi" thread and could not find anyone who specifically indicated that atemi was "unnecessary."

I also scanned most of the forums on this Web site and was unable to find anyone that did not believe that aikido was a budo. The statement "aikido as a budo" doesn't make sense since the vast majority of those who practice aikido already accept the art as a budo and want to see it maintained as a highly effective form of self defense.

The real issue here seems to be, "what kind of budo is it?"

For me, there is no question. O'Sensei clearly stated that he wanted aikido to be unlike all of the other martial arts. He did not want it to be a budo of violence, but rather a budo of love, an art of peace.

Therefore, those who seek to turn aikido into a budo of violence are clearly going against the Founder's intentions.

There are plenty of other violent martial arts in the world for violent individuals to chose from. Bringing violence into aikido is a bad idea.

06-24-2002, 10:19 AM	#4
mike lee Location: Taipei, Taiwan Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 646 Offline	unnecessary I just quickly scanned the entire "atemi" thread and could not find anyone who specifically indicated that atemi was "unnecessary." I also scanned most of the forums on this Web site and was unable to find anyone that did not believe that aikido was a budo. The statement "aikido as a budo" doesn't make sense since the vast majority of those who practice aikido already accept the art as a budo and want to see it maintained as a highly effective form of self defense. The real issue here seems to be, "what kind of budo is it?" For me, there is no question. O'Sensei clearly stated that he wanted aikido to be unlike all of the other martial arts. He did not want it to be a budo of violence, but rather a budo of love, an art of peace. Therefore, those who seek to turn aikido into a budo of violence are clearly going against the Founder's intentions. There are plenty of other violent martial arts in the world for violent individuals to chose from. Bringing violence into aikido is a bad idea.