Aikido
Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba
合気道 · 合氣道 · 아이키도
- Country of origin
- Japan
- Founder
- Morihei Ueshiba
- Type
- budō, martial arts, sports discipline
Aikido (Shinjitai: 合気道, Kyūjitai: 合氣道, aikidō, Japanese pronunciation: [aikiꜜdoː]) is a modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Aikikai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 140 countries.
It was originally developed by Morihei Ueshiba, as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy and religious beliefs. Ueshiba's goal was to create an art which practitioners could use to defend themselves against attacks, while also protecting the attackers from injury. Aikido is often translated as "the way of unifying (with) life energy" or as "the way of harmonious spirit". According to the founder's philosophy, the primary goal in the practice of aikido is to overcome oneself instead of cultivating violence or aggressiveness. Morihei Ueshiba used the phrase "masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi" (正勝吾勝勝速日, "true victory, final victory over oneself, here and now") to refer to this principle.
Styles and branches of Aikido
Aikido techniques
Notable Aikido athletes and practitioners
- Steven Seagal United States
- Morihei Ueshiba Japan
- Edvin Kanka Ćudić Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Moriteru Ueshiba Japan
- Yuliia Paievska Ukraine
- Kisshomaru Ueshiba Japan
- Takeda Sōkaku Japan
- Koichi Tohei Japan
- Morihiro Saito Japan
- Christian Tissier France
- Gozo Shioda Japan
- Tan Twan Eng Malaysia
- Nobuyoshi Tamura Japan
- Minoru Mochizuki Japan
- Mitsuteru Ueshiba Japan
- Ljubomir Vračarević Serbia
- Kathy Long United States
- Kazuo Chiba Japan
- Hirokazu Kobayashi Japan
- Michio Hikitsuchi Japan
- Kenji Shimizu Japan
- Kenshiro Abbe Japan
- Seigo Yamaguchi Japan
- Emma Hwang United States
- Isamu Takeshita Japan
- Hiroshi Tada Japan
- Masatomi Ikeda Japan
- Hitohiro Saito Japan
- Hiroshi Isoyama Japan
- Katsuaki Asai Japan
- Itsuo Tsuda Japan
- Mitsugi Saotome Japan
- Yoshimitsu Yamada Japan
- Jan Hermansson Sweden
- Masamichi Noro Japan
- Noriaki Inoue
90 people in this reference practise Aikido.
Rules, ranks and training
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q43114 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.