Angry People

Having just read and participated in a thread at aikiweb I was left pondering the purpose of Aikido.

Is Aikido is a means of teaching physical self-defence? How well does it fit the purpose and how good do you need to be to feel safe?

Is Aikido is a means of spiritual development? How is this aspect taught?

Is Aikido a social activity not dissimilar to morris dancing?

Even if there are intrinsic answers to these questions, the true value of Aikido will, as with any pursuit, always be determined by the practitioner.

On a physical level, I find that Aikido is a framework for learning about how to move, how the body works, distance and timing and about the principles of Ai-Ki. This is, in practice, untested because I have never needed to fight.
On a spiritual level, I find that Aikido is a practice into which I can bring my own challenges; a space for me to examine my own perceptions and reactions. This is not taught or discussed in Aikido but is personal to me.
On a social level, I find the camaraderie between students is unlike any other type of friendship. This is not to be written about but discovered.

So, in the modern world, there is very little need for physical self defence. My understanding was that the martial arts were first formalised by monks, during the warring states period, who needed to protect themselves and stay healthy to survive for long enough to make progress on their spiritual path.

The battles we face, in the modern world, do not result in immediate death however, continually losing these battles may contribute to our death eg failure to deal effectively with stress, anger and emotional challenges. Does Aikido help us to ‘fight’ these battles? How about the smaller personal ‘battles’ that occur in daily life; those that leave us looking like a tit - are these not ‘lost battles’? Does aikido prepare us for and teach us how to deal with them?

When I started writing this I had no goal in mind, and through consideration of the question, I find that I am even further from answering it. Perhaps the question is too big? Maybe I’ll break it down into more manageable chunks in further posts.