Читать книгу Complete Aikido. Aikido Kyohan: The Definitive Guide to the Way of Harmony онлайн

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Part of aikido’s rise in popularity can quite simply be attributed to time. In the almost thirty years since the death of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba O’Sensei, his many students have spread his philosophy and vision across the world, passing it on to a new generation of students who continue to sow the seeds of his legacy. More recently, aikido’s appearance in popular films and on television has exposed O’Sensei’s teachings to a worldwide audience, inspiring many to seek out more information and, ultimately, to study. Aikido’s fundamental philosophy of non-violence is one that today’s increasingly more violent society seems eager to embrace. In addition, aikido’s non-reliance on physical strength or size for effectiveness arguably invites a broader range of students than other martial arts.

Whatever the reasons, aikido’s rise in popularity has come at a cost. Aikido is now subject to the same broad misconceptions that first greeted more established and familiar (at least now) arts such as karate, judo, kung-fu, taekwondo, and so on, perhaps even more so. Because of aikido’s emphasis on non-violence, some people characterize it as more of a spiritual pursuit than a practical means of self-defense. Others argue that aikido will work only if regressed to its more brutal Daito-ryu jujutsu roots, and that spirituality is secondary, at best. These schools of thought are very much like the parable of the four blind men feeling an elephant for the first time. One feels the trunk, and says an elephant is like a snake. Another touches a leg, and says it is like a tree, and so on. While these observations contain some truth, it is an incomplete truth. It is for this reason, among others, that Complete Aikido: Aikido Kyohan was written.