Moves looked effortless and beautiful yet opponents were systematically defeated by the incredibly strong feeling developed by Ueshiba, known today as O-Sensei.
O-Sensei named this new martial art Aikido. William Gleason Sensei, the founder of Shobu Aikido, lived in Japan for ten years and studied with Yamaguchi Sensei who studied directly with O-Sensei.
With Aikido people learn how to apply powerful attacks AND learn how to defend against them.
Punches and strikes, pins and locks, even sword, short-staff and knife techniques are used to develop this internal feeling.
Similar to sparring, Aikido’s unique one on one training style ensures ‘real-world’ feeling.
However, even though full-speed attacks are allowed on the mat - competition is not. This helps people of all ages, abilities and body types practice together with little risk of injury. Aikido is great for beginners, intermediate and even experienced martial artists looking for a way to continue practicing into their 50’s and 60’s!
