In Manseikan Aikido, we post one of the founder’s sayings that anybody ought to be able to understand as "The Spirit of Aikido". We intone it before the Aikido practice and pledge to the founder that "We start the Aikido practice now. And please allow us to perform exercise the Aikido practice." toward the goal of this spirit. A person who is late for the beginning of the practice should intone this sprit in mind and start the practice. Forgetting the goal and only focusing on the physical "Waza" makes us hurt the other and compete for the power without a reason.

The Spirit of Aikido "Aiki is Love. Making up our mind by the heart in the universe (Tenchi no Kokoro) and fulfilling the personal mission by the great spirit of universal kindness (Banyu Aigo no Daiseishin) should be the path of martial arts. The Aiki is to master self and not only to take the fight out of the enemy, but the way of the absolute self completion by getting rid of the enemy itself. Thus the Aikido arts move the celestial natural laws in our body and are the duty and way to achieve the fresh-spirit united supreme goal."

In this spirit there is a word "take the fight out of the enemy". This word seems to be the most important for the Aikido practice. The "enemy" means a person in opposite directions. When we use it for the martial arts term, it turns into the strong word. And to take the fight out of the enemy, you should be much above the person. There are a lot of people who simply think it is to bring a person to its knees by violent, injuring "Waza". To really take the fight out of a person, the person should fully understand the "Waza" by the other. And the person should feel "It is absolutely what you said." from the heart.

If you bring a person to its knees violently on an ad hoc basis, the person should think that "I do take reprisal against you sooner or later." and the person develops a feeling of hostility. The founder says, "If the person develops a feeling of hostility, we can not get rid of the enemy itself. When the person admires you from the heart, you will be able to integrate with the person's mind. And then the Musubi (connection and relation) comes into being and the Love will be born. I assume that this is the goal of Aikido and the way of the self completion. The arts to the way should be consistent with the celestial natural laws. Performing it everyday, we can achieve the fresh-spirit united enlightenment". We need to walk through the way to enlightenment throughout our whole life. If a half-hearted person throws off the way, the person must be a failure in the way.

Manseikan Aikido founder
Kanshu Sunadomari