Welcome to the Aiki-Aikido blog

This blog is about Aikido, the way with Aiki.

 

Most probably, sooner or later, every practicioner of Aikido gets the question asked “what is Aikido?”. If not before, surely then this will be the moment when we as Aikido students (even in teaching positions we remain students, students of the way) will ask ourselves the same question too, “what exactly is Aikido?”

As an Aikido practitioner with more than three decades of Aikido training, I should have a good answer to that question at hand. To be honest, even after more than three decades of training and study of Aikido, I haven’t got THE answer, though of course I can tell about what Aikido is to me and what Aikido means to me. But I can not speak for others as they have their own opinions and ways and means about what Aikido is to them and why and how they train in Aikido.

To sort my own thoughts and ideas about Aikido based on my own training experience, I started to write things down. The whole process of writing and rearranging what has been written, to make things more understandable and to put things in the right order also helped me a great deal in gaining a better understanding.

At first I 1 started this blog to get my thoughts about Aikido sorted and organized. Then I thought that maybe some of this might also be of interest to my students and maybe to others as well. 

 

"Aikido, the way with Aiki,
in which the principle of non-resistance
is seen as the core principle"

 

In this blog I will talk about Aikido, the way with Aiki, in which the principle of non-resistance is seen as the core principle, so much really, that I understand this principle to be the key to Aiki. By following this principle while doing an Aikido technique, the technique then becomes an expression of Aiki. To be able to do so, body, mind, spirit and heart need to be in a state of non-resistance as well, as otherwise it just won't work. Therefore the principle of non-resistance not only shows in Aikido techniques, but it is also expressed through body, mind, spirit and heart.

This principle completely changed my way of thinking and looking at Aikido and I strongly believe this principle to take a part of great if not major importance in the Aiki and Aikido of the founder.

 

"This principle completely changed
my way of thinking
and looking at Aikido"

 

Still, and in contrast to the blog's catchy title, in this blog you will not find objective explanations on Aiki or Aikido whatsoever. But you may want to read about what I have to say about the principle of non-resistance in particular and about my thoughts on Aiki and Aikido. To underline my line of thoughts I am taking the words of the founder of Aikido, O-Sensei 2 Morihei Ueshiba 3 as a reference and guideline and I' do the same with the words of other experts on the subject as I understand them and think them to be relevant to the topic in question.

Before going on I want to declare that all the faults and errors in everything presented in this blog are mine alone. This might be due to my lack of having a correct understanding about the subject in question or this might also be due to my inability to bring across in understandable words the things I talk about or that maybe some things probably can't really be explained well in words at all. So, I guess, misunderstandings are likely bound to happen. Anyway, it can't be helped.

So then, since I came to realize about the principle of non-resistance, Aikido to me, now is a truly wonderful training method to find out about this principle, to experience and to express it in action, in life, on and off the mats. All of which aren't simple things to do, but nevertheless, to me, seems like worth the effort.

 

"Aikido to me, is a truly wonderful
training method to find out about
this principle"

 

Again, please note that this blog can and will only represent my personal views on the subject, based on my personal experience and understanding. I highly respect that others may have different views and also may have different goals in Aikido training. Aikido is, like everything else, what we make it to be. The Aikido of O-Sensei was what he made it to be. Nevertheless, I try to do my best (within the possibilities of my limited understanding and abilities) to follow the directions O-Sensei gave in his explanations and showed in his demonstrations.

Although most of the things look pretty consistent to me right now, there still are a lot of questions hopefully to be answered some time along the way. And just as well as there are, here and there and everywhere, still faults and errors in my practice, most probably there may also be still flaws in the logic of my thinking too. Anyone to point those out in respectful ways is highly welcome to do so.

My Aikido journey started in the early nineties without having the slightest idea where this would lead me to. But then again, it has brought me to where I stand right now. So to everyone who's curious and interested, I'm happy to share my experience and my thoughts.

 

Please enjoy!!
Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.
Please always be respectful in your comments.

1  Igor Drieghe: Author of this Blog. Started Aikido in the early 90's. Currently holds a 5th Dan (Aikikai, Tokyo) in Aikido.
2  O-Sensei = jap.: great teacher 
3  Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969), founder of Aikido

Page first published on 05.09.2023
Page last updated on 31.03.2026

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Disclaimer: everything presented in this post only represents my personal opinions based on my personal  knowledge, understanding and experiences made regarding the matter in discussion except where quotes are made. Other opinions are highly respected as long as they can withstand the argumentation. Some of the points presented may be purely speculative on my side due to the lack of evidence known to me. Any evidence presented to help clarify the points in question is highly welcomed. The post may still undergo little changes, although the content will mainly remain the same.

Notes on Copyrights: None of the content was written by AI. Neither text or parts of the text may be used or published elsewhere without the consent of the author. It is OK though to quote with correct references made to this text.
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