Aikido is a modern form of Budo which was developed from traditional Japanese Budo forms by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). Ueshiba, who was born in Tanabe in what is now the Wakayama region, in his youth trained under the great masters of Japan, and little by little he became one of the greatest Budo practitioners of his time.

He was particularly inspired by Sokaku Takeda Sensei's Daito Ryu Aiki-jutsu, which came to be the technical foundation of Aikido. The second important influence on Ueshiba was Onisaburo Deguchi, who was the spiritual head of Omoto Kyo, a group of people practicing a certain kind of Shintoism, the primaeval religion of Japan.

Even though Aikido is one of the newest forms of Budo, it is nonetheless considered to be among the most traditional ones - even in Japan. The movements of Aikido are harmonious and often circular. For the sake of effectiveness it is expedient to expect your opponent to be stronger than oneself. You therefore learn turning aside to avoid confronting power with power. Important aspects of the training include balance, timing, estimation of distance and orientation towards an attacker.

In traditional, Japanese martial arts, the defensive stance is considered the most effective one. Skilled Budo practitioners regard it as being more effective to apply a technique as a reaction to an attack rather than initiating an attack. In addition to this comes the attitude that Budo is intended as self defense.

If you’re interested in training Aikido, the Copenhagen Aikido Club has beginners’ classes starting in February and September.

The autumn and spring introduction courses are for members who have never previously trained Aikido. They provide you with the opportunity of participating in an introduction class during which instructors from the club will tell you about Aikido, training and the beginners’ course.

You can sign up for the beginners’ course which will consist of two weekly classes from September to the beginning of December or from February to May.

If you would like to take part in the introduction class and/or the beginners’ course you can send an email to Troels at: troels@aikido-copenhagen.dk