Budo

Budo is known to most American martial artists as “the Way of the Warrior”. For many Aikidoka, reconciling the ideas of warriors and promoting peace can be a struggle. By taking a step back we can reframe these seemingly opposed ideas. Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido began developing a martial art that built on a rich martial tradition while reorienting the techniques and purpose of the previous martial practices to build peace and harmony. As the practice that became Aikido emerged, O Sensei initially called it “Aiki-Budo” and in 1938 published a book titled “Budo”.
Budo is an interesting choice of brands for an emerging martial art. The specific word translates to english as “to set the spear aside” or “stop the fighting”, perhaps even to “create peace”. Bringing this to the point, Budo also meant something particular to O Sensei. Something different then other terms for fighting arts that he could have chosen. In his descriptions, this term conveyed a way of being and acting. In his words Budo is “a way of life dedicated to peace and enlightened action”. As students of Aikido, we have many reasons that we enjoy our practice. These are all good and valid reasons for showing up and participating in this art and while we all move down our path it is sometimes useful to reflect on the values that our practice is built on.