Many observers, and indeed participants, of the martial arts consider them (the MA and esp. Aikido) to be a pacifist activity, dedicated only to the improvement of body, of mind, and of spirit.  They state, and teach, that "true" martial arts are not for violence or for self-defence or for sports or for fighting.  Instead they declare, quite strongly at times, that they are non-violent activities designed only for some form of universal love.

Of all the martial arts taught today, Aikido seems to be the worst of these.  This is likely due to the teachings of O'Sensei in his later years where he spoke of non-violence, of love, and of universal peace and understanding.

It is true that Aikido can and indeed is non-violent in it's intent and it's teachings but to simply state that it's non-violent is missing a much larger picture. 

Good and Evil do exist; of that there should be no doubt regardless of what the "People of Gaia" or "The Hippie Generation" may think.  Read the newspaper one day to see this proven or go sit in a church pew to hear this preached within a religio-spiritual context with example after example given as part of the lesson.  However a problem sometimes arises (likely from too much preaching) that may sometimes lead one to beleive that Good is inactive, dull and placid while Evil is active, interesting and anything but inactive.

"Turn the other cheek" is the teaching of Christianity, of Amida Budhhism and of many religious belief systems that permeate our lives and indeed, should one spend much time reading Ueshiba then one may come to believe (and profess) that Aikido has this philosophy.  But turning the other cheek is not simply an idea that deals with letting the opponent/enemy beat on us until his arm gets tired and he goes away leaving us in the gutter; an exercise in passivism and masochism as-it-were that benefits neither party in the "mis-communication".  Instead, turning the other cheek should be considered a challenge to us to become more than a simple Pavlovian Budo-Machine that explodes into rage, revenge, and multiple Shoman-ate after Kote-gaeshi after Osoto-gari at any slight provocation or word/action or deed directed at us.

When challenged, a mature individual (and a seasoned Aikido player) should turn the other cheek in the sense that initial avoidance (of the challenge in life ouotside the dojo or of the waza on the mat) is the best initial Aiki-response and that understanding and negotiation are preferable to the knee-jerk of violence.

BUT ...... Aikido also says that should avoidance, non-confrontation adn negotiation fail then using our Aikido to control the situation in a non-harmful way is not only allowed but expected.  Avoiding the aggression, blending with it, controlling and re-directing it's energy, spirit and initial intent can in the end be more useful, proactive and positive then the alternatives; thus the initial victim is spared from pain (and masochism) and the initial attacker is spared from sin (and sadism).

 L.F. Wilkinson Sensei 

A monthly commentary from Aikido players about how it has affected their day-to-day activities or helped them avoid unpleasantries.

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