Word-Dancing Together Towards Noble Outcomes

As is often the case with phenomena that are subject to interpretation, there are many definitions for aikido. Going to the source is a good approach to finding an original definition or description. The source of aikido is Morihei Ueshiba ,  who lived from 1883 to 1969. He created aikido and is often referred to as the founder or ō sensei (Japanese for grandmaster). Even if I could read Japanese, many of the texts attributed to Ueshiba are interpretive sources, as they are transcripts of recorded lectures and interviews. “Bud ō , Teachings of the Founder of Aikid ō ” (M. Ueshiba, 1938/2013) is probably the only available book that Ueshiba wrote. It is an instruction manual and a statement of the aim and spirit of aikido’s philosophy. It became available to the English-reading world in 1993 thanks to a translation by John Stevens, an American professor of Buddhist studies and an aikido instructor who lived in Japan from 1973 till 2013 (“ John Stevens (Scholar) ,” 2023). The name ai...

| This blog will dive into the application of aikido in communication training. |  If we want to know what aikido means in the context of business communication training courses, it is useful to understand aikido as it is taught in the dojo (dōjō, training place). Aikido is a relatively modern, global phenomenon that originated in Japan in the 1920-1960s. It is rooted in older martial arts (history), has a curriculum of physical movements (external), fosters mental development (internal), bears a philosophy (spiritual), is an embodied experience (individual), and has usage in daily life (applied). Aikido scholars often refer to Westbrook and Ratti's “Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction” (2001) for definitions, descriptions, and illustrations. In fact, Westbrook and Ratti cover many aspects of aikido clearly and quite profoundly. Their description of aikido hints at the six aspects (historical, external, internal, spiritual, individual, and applied): EMERGIN...