Aikido.
A Japanese martial art specialising in using
an aggressor's momentum against him (or her!). Aikido's founder, Morihei Ueshiba,
was born in Japan on 14 December 1883. He received certificates of mastery in
several styles of jujitsu, fencing, and spear fighting. Combining his martial
training with his religious and political ideologies, he created the modern
martial art of Aikido, naming it "Aikido" in 1942 (before that it
was called "aikibudo" and "aikinomichi"). The religious
side of Aikido is particularly important. However, from the Aikido FAQ 
history
page we have the following comment:
"Despite what many people think or claim, there is no unified philosophy of Aikido. What there is, instead, is a disorganized and only partially coherent collection of religious, ethical, and metaphysical beliefs which are only more or less shared by Aikidoists, and which are either transmitted by word of mouth or found in scattered publications about Aikido. ... At the core of almost all philosophical interpretations of Aikido, however, we may identify at least two fundamental threads: (1) A commitment to peaceful resolution of conflict whenever possible. (2) A commitment to self-improvement through Aikido training."
The commitment to peaceful resolution has been suggested (slightly tongue in cheek) as the reason why there are no Aikido competitions – both competitors in a round would simply wait for the other to start something. Good on them, too. Aikido is rated Caution here because of the importance of its religious side. That possibly strong religious aspect (dependent on branch?) is something for Christians to be wary of if getting involved, but does not necessarily mean Aikido is something to be avoided by all Christians. However, for some Christians it may be something best completely avoided.
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Printed on 20 January 2021 at www.cults.co.nz.
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