"Aikido has a rich heritage as one of the most important and dynamic expressions of Japan's long martial arts tradition."(1) Aikido is one of the more graceful, subtle, and sophisticated martial arts. It was founded by Morihei Ueshiba around the turn of the century and is primarily derived from ancient Japanese Samurai sword fighting methods and Aiki Jujitsu.
Aikido is a unique fighting art which may be used to defend one's self against any number of attacks. It is unique in the sense that it is almost purely defensive: it teaches no kicks or punches and has relatively few aggressive moves; however, Aikido is a highly effective martial art. "By using the attacker's momentum, the Aikidoka steals his balance, controls his force and finally, neutralizes his attack."(1)
"The central themes of Aikido are to learn to ethically defend without vengeance, to forgive your enemies and to harmonize with any attack."(1)
As a professor of physical education, Kenji Tomiki sought to incorporate the progressive instruction style of Judo in teaching Aikido to his students. "Tomiki believed that randori (unstructured free-style exercise) could be as successful in teaching Aikido as experience had shown with Judo. He wrote, 'To beginners, a free-style exercise affords more interest and encouragement, enabling them to acquire ability for adaptation and to have confidence in themselves.'"(2) "At Waseda University he began to experiment, selecting seventeen 'basic techniques' (known today as the junanahon-no-kata) which he felt constituted 'the nucleus of the art of Aikido.' Gradually a framework for Aikido randori evolved, practiced either 'empty hand against empty hand' or 'empty hand against a knife.'"(2)
Shodokan (style) Aikido is a blend of traditional Aikido and Modern Judo. It is the only style of Aikido which incorporates tournament competition into its curriculum. The combination of kata and competition are intended to bring a sense of realism and practicality to the practitioners of Shodokan Aikido. As Riki Kogure Sensei said in an interview with Aiki News magazine, "The principles and techniques established through the practice of kata can be applied in various kinds of free-play, or randori, where the player's response is based entirely on the nature of the attack. Kata without an understanding of the practicalities of randori is a meaningless dance, while randori without an understanding of the principles of kata techniques is not even Aikido."(3) Shodokan Aikido incorporates various forms of balance-breaking, strikes, joint-locks, throws and pins in its technical repertoire. It teaches both traditional style techniques and techniques best suited for the dynamic environment of competition.