

Study of ‘Ai’
The most fundamental concept of Aikido is that of ‘harmonising’ with an attacker. In practical terms, a practitioner of aikido will use the force of an attack against their aggressor to apply a lock, throw or pin. When pulled, the Aikidoka (practioner of Aikido) moves forward in the direction of the attack. When pushed, the Aikidoka pivots out of the way. In this way, Aikido redirects the force of the attack until it is no longer a threat. In this weakened position, the attacker then becomes susceptible to various forms of controls (ways of directing an attacker to a final pin), or throw.