On This Day In History: Ueshiba Morihei, The ‘Founder of Aikido’ Was Born – On Dec 14, 1883

AncientPages.com - On December 14, 1883, Ueshiba Morihei - the 'Founder of Aikido,' was born in Nishinotani village (now part of Tanabe), Japan.

Until he died in 1969 at the age of 85, the master of Aikido maintained an undefeated record.

The Japanese martial art of Aikido is a comprehensive system of throwing, joint-locking, striking, and pinning techniques, coupled with training in traditional Japanese weapons such as the sword, staff, and knife. It represents a potent distillation of centuries of Japanese martial knowledge and is one of the world's most widely practiced budo or martial way.

This 'Great Teacher,' as he was referred to, was the son of a landowner from Tanabe. Ueshiba studied several martial arts in his youth and served in the Japanese Army during the Russo-Japanese War.

After being discharged in 1907, he moved to Hokkaido as the head of a pioneer settlement; here, he met and studied with Takeda Sokaku, the founder of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu.

Ueshiba continued to develop as a jujitsu master. As he learned other techniques, he gradually formulated a system of defending that would morph into what we call, Aikido today by the late 1930s.

Taking a more spiritual look at what it meant to engage in combat, Ueshiba shifted from striking an opponent toward a more sophisticated approach: taking advantage of the other person's momentum to make him defeat himself.

As World War II broke out in the Pacific, Ueshiba maintained a busy practice teaching others his method, influencing police forces and military groups.

When the fighting became more intense after the Americans entered the conflict, he opted to return to the countryside, feeling an intense pull toward farming as his father had.

From the time he moved to the village of Iwama in 1942, Ueshiba blended Aikido's physical technique and spiritual engagement further.

From the war's end to the 1960s, he worked to promote Aikido throughout Japan and abroad.

Referred to as O Sensei by his students, the "Grand Teacher" continued to instruct until his sudden death from cancer in April 1969.

Telling his students to share his teachings, Ueshiba operated from a fundamental point of view his whole life:

"A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind."

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