Thoughts on Aikido continued Fighting and all sports which emphasize beating or being beaten remain locked in a game of domination whereby the bigger, stronger, and faster tend to triumph over the smaller, weaker, and slower. For this reason, Judo, boxing, and wrestling divide themselves into weight classes. For this reason Sumo-Do considers itself the pinnacle of the martial arts. And for this reason, there is no competition in Aikido.
Competition runs contrary to the spirit of Aikido. In Aikido, men and women of all ages cooperate in daily repetitive practice designed to harmonize their movements with the rhythms of Nature. Through such practice Aikidoists seek to solve the problem of violence at its core - person against person - and thus serve an important building block in a larger process that leads to the realization of humankind's ultimate dream: world peace.
Sensei's Essays
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