# Aikido - the art of peace



## happyandfirm (Oct 19, 2007)

this is the best tip i can give you thats not already been mentioned.

aikido is a self-defence martial art. but its much different than any other martial art. the point of aikido is to take control of your mind, emotions and body to be able to avoid any stress. of course stress is when someone on the street attacks you and everyone at first thinks that is point of aikido.

but its not. becoming a better fighter is only consequence of upgrading your focus, awareness of surroundings, emotional stability and awareness of yourself. your body of course also gets prepeared because you sweat a bit  . point of aikido is in the end not becoming more prepeared for fight but more prepeared for life! instructor keeps insisting on this and everyone realises that very quickly.

not to be scared, aikido is not competitive but cooperative sport. nobody fights in training, people "play" (thats what its called) or work together to improve each other.

also, in the beginning of trainings dp/dr does not represent problem because everybody is equally confused and lost :wink: 
on first few trainings instructor kept saying: if you are not confused by all of this, if you arent dizzy from all of this GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE because you are not material for aikido.

*aikido is best thing that happened to me*, after it helped me chase that ugly fog away, it helped me be a happy and focused person!

*try it, its great* 8)


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## PPPP (Nov 26, 2006)

I took an aikido class at my university and it was pretty cool.
I wanted to keep up with it afterwards but... didn't manage to.

But I'd recomend it as a good thing to do to get some exercise and clear-headedness.


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## TerriW (Jun 13, 2007)

I have been in karate for a while now, I practice shotokan, it too teaches to be peaceful and it is strictly for self defense. It has helped me quite a bit, it teaches you how to meditate and focus and take control of your mind. I love it.


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## happyandfirm (Oct 19, 2007)

@layla :arrow: glad you liked it  , sorry you didnt manage to keep up with it 

@terryw :arrow: shotokan sounds like aikido. it will certainly do you good :wink: . i only want to mention that we dont go to trance when meditating or any stuff like that, we only learn how to breathe properly (through diaphragm) and relax that way.


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