Why training in Aikido is good for the mind and body

If you are reading this section you have probably not trained Aikido before, and perhaps (hopefully!) are wondering about giving it a try...

Why Train Aikido

If you are reading this section you have probably not trained Aikido before, and perhaps (hopefully!) are wondering about giving it a try. But, of course, you are a busy person; you have many things to do with your evenings that don’t involved coming to a small village to practise a martial art once or even twice a week. There are many other things you could be doing, so WHY, you ask, why should you invest your time in training Aikido?

Of course there are many answers to this question, and in the end people have their own reasons for starting and pursuing Aikido, you can read about some of our reasons in the “Why Train Aikido with Kamo?” section, but to start you thinking here are some ideas about Aikido in general.

Aikido is good for you

Of course any exercise is good for you, but in Aikido we concentrate a lot on working to make our body move in a natural way; to have a good posture, to move freely and possibly most useful of all in this busy day and age to genuinely relax and let out the tensions that exist in every adult body. Over the long term this training will not only increasing your fitness levels but will also have a beneficial effect on your well-being in general.

In addition Aikido is a ‘cerebral’ martial art. Practicing demands and hones the ability to focus and to keep a calm mind, one of the friends of Kamo; a Doctor who trains in Seattle USA says for him “Aikido is a Meditation in Movement”, which sums up this element of the art with elegance. Aikido will help you put aside pressures, errant thoughts and focus cleanly on the here and now.

In summary Aikido will do you good, and it will make you feel good!

Anybody, of any age, and any sex can do Aikido

Although Aikido is a physical activity the ways we move our body are very comfortable and very natural, anybody of any size, shape and fitness level can make the movements. To progress in Aikido requires practise and the ability to relax and focus, not to be the fittest, the fastest or the strongest.

Within Kamo’s adult classes there are men and women from 18 to 70 training, and beginners of all ages and fitness levels are always welcome.

Aikido Works

Kamo Aikido is not self defence club; our purpose for training is not to spend hours of our lives practising to meet violence with violence. Instead Aikido is an ethical Martial Art whose origins focus on avoiding conflict and living in harmony people. In fact the Founder of Aikido believed that the more people that practised Aikido the less conflict there would be in the world.

That said, the techniques we train in Aikido are designed to control the body of an attacker while minimising any threat to you, and in this they are undoubtedly effective. Aikido techniques are used by law enforcement bodies across the world due to their ability to safely restrain a body, without seriously damaging it.

One of the main advantages that training in any Martial Art, but especially in Aikido with it’s emphasise on harmony and blending, gives a person in life is in the field of conflict avoidance and resolution. Aikido will assist develop your confidence, self belief and self knowledge and this perhaps is more valuable than the specific training in martial techniques.