Aikido is a modern Japanese martial art developed in the 20th century by Morihei Ueshiba, who was often referred to as O Sensei or “Great Teacher” by his students. He synthesized Aikido from his studies in several styles of jiu-jitsu (primarily Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu), and traditional weapons-based arts.
Empty-hand techniques in Aikido consist mainly of joint-locks, pins, and throws, working off different grabs and strikes. The goal is to harmonize with the energy of the attack, and redirect it so that both attacker and defender are protected from injury – a mutually beneficial outcome. In addition, the curriculum also includes weapons techniques using the bokken (wooden sword), jo (staff) and tanto (knife).
The Aikido program offered through the Carbondale Park District is affiliated with Aikido Schools of Ueshiba (ASU), an organization founded by Mitsugi Saotome shihan, a personal disciple of O Sensei.
Aikido classes provide beginners with a solid grounding in kihon waza (basic techniques) and ukemi (the art of falling), as well as an introduction to Aiki weapons.
As students progress, they will deepen their knowledge of the fundamental techniques of Aikido and start working on more advanced skills like henka waza (flowing from one technique to another), kaeshi waza (reversal techniques), jiyu waza (free technique), and randori (multiple attackers with or without weapons). They will also work more with weapons paired kata from the ASU curriculum, as well as disarming techniques against an attacker armed with a bokken, jo, or tanto.
Our Carbondale Park District aikido program complements our sister jujitsu and karate classes, which offer the community a broad range of self-defense skills.
Find out more on the Carbondale Park District aikido Facebook page.
Sign up for our aikido classes today by calling the Park District at (618) 549-4222
or registering online.