AIKIDOSUMMARYAikido is a martial art form developed in the 1920s by Morihei Ueshiba. It is rooted in several styles of jujitsu and forms of sword and spear combat. Simply put, Aikido takes the joint locks and throws of jujitsu and blends them with spear or sword fighting movements. Ueshiba's Aikido bases its philosophy on the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the exclusive use of martial training to improve oneself. The emphasis on gaining control and causing minimal harm is one reason it is used in law enforcement. HISTORY/ORIGIONS Thymology The word "aikido" is made up of three distinct Japanese characters or "kanji": Ai - refers to the union or unification of things. ki - refers to spirit, mood or energyDō - refers to a path or wayThis means that from a linguistic point of view Aikido can be described as the way of joining forces to achieve a single goal .BeginningsAikido was founded by Morihei Ueshiba. Ueshiba was born in 1883 and growing up in Japan watched his father be attacked and be unable to defend himself or fight back against his attackers. He then decided that he would dedicate himself to learning the martial art to condition his body so that he could avenge his father and not be a victim. He continued to study Daitō-ryū aiki-jujitsu with Takeda Sōkaku where he learned the method of empty-handed joint locking techniques unique to jujitsu. He then continued to study Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū Tenjin under the guidance of Tozawa Tokusaburō, Gotōha Yagyū Shingan-ryū with Nakai Masakatsi and finally continued to study Judo with Kiyoichi Takagi. All of his teachers were highly regarded masters of their own styles, but Ueshiba found a way to combine the best of each of these styles to create... middle of paper ......applied to safely receive what could be a serious strike. There are no real rules for Aikido but rather codes of conduct for training. The four fundamental codes are:1. Aikido can be dangerous and therefore should not be practiced unnecessarily. The instructor should be obeyed at all times.2. You must learn to face multiple opponents at the same time. This means you should learn every move and countermove from every direction.3. The practice should not be approached with fear but should bring a feeling of pleasure.4. You can only get better with practice. Build your body gradually. There are perhaps fewer than twenty basic techniques but thousands of different ways to implement them.REFERENCES1. Discovering Rupert Atkinson's Aikido: http://discovering-aikido.com/2. Aikido FAQ: http://www.aikidofaq.com