Geschichte

Modern Aikido is derived from the Aiki-jujutsu of the 9th century. These were violent times, with various clans fighting each other. Aiki-Jujutsu was one of many martial arts. It was invented by a civilized warrior named Prince Teijun. Teijuns methods were based on empty hand sword blows, aimed at various openings in the armor of the opponent.

With the introduction of firearms, the ancient martial arts began to fall apart. Only in the 19th Century, when Japan emerged from its isolation, Sogaku Takeda decided to revive the combat system of his family. Morei Ueshiba attended this school. In Sogaku Takeda Ueshiba helped to develop the school. Soon he became one of Takeda’s best students.

Ueshiba had been interested in martial arts such as Jujutsu and Kenjutsu from an early age, and in 1908 he was already master in several martial arts. After Ueshiba left Takeda in 1911, he got to know Onisaburo Deguchi, the founder of the Omoto kyo, a new religion. This religion inspired Ueshiba on a spiritual level. Ueshiba was aware that martial arts had to do not only with force, but were a way for the merging of body and mind. In 1948, the Aikido Association (Aikikai) was established and in 1950, the regular teaching of Aikido in the dojo Kobukan started.