Life Force

 

 

Aikido is a Japanese martial art which addresses our life as a whole and provides a system of practice which supports a healthy and engaged lifestyle connected to the natural world. Indeed, the term Aikido means ‘the way of harmony with the universal life force’.

 

The roots of the art reach far into Japanese culture and philosophy, yet it has been developed by a succession of gifted masters to meet the particular needs of our time. I am honoured to study with Yoshigasaki sensei, one of the masters who has been reshaping and augmenting Aikido into a contemporary art, translating the original wisdom and traditional knowledge of the past into a vibrant practice which can be communicated and shared within our cultural paradigm.

 

Aikido was inspired by a philosophy of peace and harmony for the world, a vision that clearly begins closer to home, in the ways we each conduct our day-to-day life. For example, the way in which we cultivate our relationships directly influences our environment, and, in turn, our experience of the world directly reflects the specific qualities by which we relate to it .