Even now, many people are still confused as to the purpose and goal of martial arts. Some people consider martial arts as only a form of violence. Because almost all forms of martial art involve physical contact, people may equate martial arts to violent behaviour. But we know nothing can be further from the truth.
A man like John Smartt, 60-year old Aikido teacher, who has trained and taught Aikido for more than 41 years can definitely prove this misconception wrong. As a matter of fact, Aikido in itself is translated to “an art of peace”. Mr. Smartt said the following statements about Aikido when he sat down in an interview with redcordnet.com.
“Self-defense is the by-product of doing it, not the focus of aikido,” Smartt said. “At the low end, (aikido philosophy) is ‘do no harm.’ At the upper end, it’s ‘love.’ The purpose of learning it is to love and be loved.”
“One of his main reasons for (Morihei, creator of Aikido) learning all this stuff was to right injustice,” Smartt said. “What he was told was, ‘You’re a great martial artist. Why not figure out the source of what true safety is.’ Aikido is the result of his figuring it out.”
