Aikido

Aikido literally meaning "harmony energy way", or with some poetic license, "way of the harmonious spirit", is a gendai budo - a modern Japanese martial art. Practitioners of aikido are known as aikidoka. It was developed by Morihei Ueshiba (also known by aikidoka as o-sensei) over the period of the 1930s to the 1960s. Technically, the major parts of aikido are derived from Daito-ryu Aiki-jujutsu, a form of jujutsu with many joint techniques, and kenjutsu, or Japanese sword technique (some believe especially the tactics in Aikido is influenced by Yagyu Shinkage Ryu). Aikido is also considered to contain a significant spiritual component.