Martial

Martial, what does this term mean?. In our aikido dojo it is a translation of 'bu' a japanese word for martial in the context of 'budo' meaning a martial way or path. Aikido itself is a martial art, though this is not always how it is practiced. To practice martially means to practice with the implied threat of physical confrontation and to better our understanding of that. 

Its a sliding scale though, the forms of aikido were developed by the founder of aikido from ancient martial arts to find a way to work in harmony with the destructive energy of an attacker. The forms can be enjoyed as a mutual practice in a ritualistic form, can be practiced within the context of understanding the implications of using them in warfare or can be practiced in simulated fighting that gets more progressively real.

Whatever the decision for individual dojo the movements may be more or somewhat less martial.

The intent of this website is to facilitate an exploration of the martial art of aikido and how it is practiced in that context. Whilst there are other benefits in daily life we believe that unless the art is practiced martially it is difficult to realise these things