Aikido the Art of Peace

An Anthropology Culture through Film class project.
A University of California Santa Cruz student film project featuring Martial Arts Aikido sensei Yoshihito Shibata
Music: Kaki King
Thank you to the students and sensei Yoshihito Shibata for welcoming our film team into the Dojo.
This short documentary is for those who are curious about the nature of Aikido and what the practice is actually about.
LOVE
Andrea Stelten

[@PARR53]

Good job with this short documentary. The truth about Aikido is that the art seeks to control a man’s sphere of movement at the first touch by off balancing him and then send him spinning away (projections aka throws) or redirect his energy combined with yours back into him aka immobilizations (jointlocks) into a take down and pin. The arts ethical intent is to cause the attacker the least amount of damage in order to subdue him but that doesn’t mean no damage. What the founder intended for conflict resolution and what the reality is on the street are 2 entirely different things. The art as the practitioner grows in it becomes more of a use of force continuum and there are plenty of Aikido technical skills were Atemi (strikes to vital points) are used to distract, off balance or painfully incapacitate the assailant. Aikido isn’t something the founder made up he synthesized it from Diato Ryu Aiki Jujutsu and Traditional Jujutsu a well as Kenjutsu and sojitsu, etc. these are all battlefield forms practiced by Samurai in their time. Aikido has the potential to be an utter devastating and effective form of self defense but it’s something that takes a deeper understanding of how it actually works and hundreds to thousands of hours over years of training with a good teacher. It’s not something particularly useful as a self defense art otherwise. Most people just don’t have the desire to learn it long enough to ever reach that point. And yes there are many other martial arts that much more brutal and to the point effective for that purpose. I’ve been studying Aikido for over a decade and find that how martial and self defense oriented ones Aikido tends to be has more to do with their teachers interpretation of the art and later their own. Some style of Aikido are much more severe (Kibeshi) in their approach towards the opponent than others. It’s a total mistake to believe that Aikido is worthless and has only spiritual value this is utter BS and an opinion not shared by many of O’Sensei’s (the founder of Aikido) own Yudansha (senior students). Aikido was ment to be modern form of Budo and not some pacifist dance where self preservation takes second place. O’SENSEI DID NOT FAVOR FORM OVER FUNCTION.

[@denzuko1]

This is a very good portray on what Aikido is about! I was going through videos after videos on sparring to seek an answer to the purpose of Aikido. It is definitely not a competing martial arts and there is very little evidence of its effectiveness since there is very few real life account of its application. I also saw many negative comments that this is a useless art form for defence, especially from groups preferring more aggressive art form. The fact that Aikido reluctance to take initiative to fight is viewed as passive and would be easily overcome. Many believe that its demonstrations are unreal and a staged.It is true that I can sense peacefulness while practicing Aikido, it helps to control the internal representation and maintain a calm state as like meditation. This is definitely a martial art suitable for people looking for peace. For those looking to be stronger, tougher and more competitive, they are definitely in the wrong place.

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Special thank to Andrea and team to make the video. We got different views from the last one. Hope to be able to spread The Art of Peace to more people. Thank you again for making this film, Andrea and team!

[@krupalvithlani]

One of the most beautiful aikido videos out there 😢🙏🤗

[@Garrett.1111]

I miss you Yoshi Sensei.

[@KaizenTao]

Thanks Yoshi, Andrea and Team. This was wonderful to watch. Very well done!

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

***** Thank you, KaizenTao San!

[@brandondarrin3067]

Peace is the most powerful power you can control within. Beautiful dojo and thank you for sharing. "Be like water".

[@rainbowchild63]

Perfect!

[@kingofaikido]

Yes..! You are right..! Peace is the Way..

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Keni Lynch Thank you.

[@DrXGnOop]

Yes Sir, we practice peace!

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

DrXGnOop Thank you very much!

[@Alexicoo]

Straight to the point :-) Very clear explanation... Thank You !

[@marianfritsch-gerl339]

Nice video! Where is this dojo? It's beautiful!

[@sketcher4lyfe]

I love the philosophy..

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

+Donovan Ingram Thank you very much!

[@MotherDick-vw4oc]

So this is what Morgan learned.

[@Zorlag]

+Mother Dick Actually he learned weapons movement from Karate.

[@e__e3074]

Incorrect, his Bo's movements are aikido and kobudo

[@Zorlag]

e__e I don't know about kobudo, but none of his movements match any of the Aikido weapon kata, not even in the most superficial stylistic fashion. Oh and his fight choreographer has a strong background in Karate. Connect the dots.

[@colinmorgan2660]

Lovely film and beautiful dojo. Well done.

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Thank you very much, Colin Morgan San!

[@shailendrapradhan5420]

Very Nice!

[@aviredmi2245]

thank you for sharing such a great experience!

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

+avi redmi Thank you very much!

[@wukongsplayground5489]

truly enlightening, thank you for sharing

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Wukongs Playground Thank you for your kind comment, Wukongs Playground San!

[@wukongsplayground5489]

Arigato gozaimasu Shitaba sensie

[@additeacha4581]

Sensei Yoshihito Shibata, I know for myself I would like more videos of you. My personal preference is the more physical, brutal response in the Steven Seagal sense but I love just as much the harmony and spirituality the practice of Aikido provides. I like the brutal response but i embrace the peaceful meaning of Aikido and the calm the art instill in the students. I have subscribe to your channel in hope of your videos, thank you. yoshuhito ?Shu

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Addi Teacha Thank you Addi Teacha San for your kind comment! I will ask my students to take more videos.

[@brownpapabear408]

Toshiba-San!!!!!!!!!

[@jeremy_ortega4608]

I want to learn this I need this in my life

[@kylecroft7221]

I am changing my life. where can I find more about this amazing lifestyle?

[@Gronked]

...an Aikido dojo...

[@thkun33]

Great stuff.

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

thkun33 Thank you!

[@j0nharris]

Very nice.

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Jon Harris Thank you.

[@DrXGnOop]

"We practice no conflict, ... no fighting..." May I borrow your words when I teach my class, Yoshi? :-)

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

+DrXGnOop Of-course, Zung San! :)

[@additeacha4581]

Can you start learning Aikido at a later age?

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

Addi Teacha Yes, I think so, Addi Teacha San! I had a friend who started when she was 60 years old and became a black belt. I think she is still training over 80 years old.

[@theartoftk]

Cool clip!

[@aikiyoshiartsmachushindo5887]

+The Art of TK (Skillz001) Thank you very much!

[@theartoftk]

Yoshihito Shibata No problem ;) ... im always interested in the philosophically thoughts behind a martial artist.

[@EyalShaniTaiChi]

would be happy if you could refer me to a direct link of sensei Yoshihito so i could communicate with him. thank you eyal

[@Gronked]

Can someone please explain the exercise done before 0:40 to me?

[@shailendrapradhan5420]

Per Suganuma, Sensei it is called "Furi Tama". The name of this Exercise literally means "Shake the Soul". ;-)

[@TheSilence1]

My teacher had me imagine that I was rolling a jewel around in my hand. What I noticed is that when you do it, and you are in a relaxed state, your entire body will feel the vibrations you are creating. Except there is one place where you can't feel the vibrations. It is where your center of gravity is, which is in your lower abdomen a few centimeters into your body and behind where your belt buckle would be. So I figured out that the exercise helped me to pinpoint and focus on my center of gravity. Being able to do so is critical to the martial art.

[@ataraska6738]

Ossu

[@---fq2kd]

без ци никуда

[@tmlscarlet3133]

Meh. i like arnis better

[@cestus66]

Aikido, the art of peace? I say it's the art of breaking bones. If you put someone down on the concrete, who's not good at ukemi, they will break. Wich is ok, since Aikido is derived from brutal battlefield fighting. Please stop making the art mindfulness mumbo jumbo.