Aikido Center of Dover

O Sensei Quotes

 Learn how to walk correctly and you can master Aikido.

Always practice Aikido in a joyful and vibrant manner.

True victory is victory over oneself.

Aiki is not a technique to fight or defeat an enemy. It is the way to reconcile the world and make human beings one family.

Techniques employ four qualities that reflect the nature of our world. Depending on the circumstance, you should be: hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth-flowing like water, or as empty as space.

Be grateful even for hardship, setbacks, and bad people. Dealing with such obstacles is an essential part of training in Aikido. 

A Brief Biography of
Morihei Ueshiba

from The Art of Peace
translated by John Stevens

Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) was one of history's greatest martial artists. Even as an old man of eighty, he could disarm any foe, down any number of attackers, and pin an opponent with a single finger. Although invincible as a warrior, he was above all a man of peace who detested fighting, war, and any kind of violence. His way was Aikido, which can be translated as "The Art of Peace." Morihei Ueshiba is referred to by the practitioners of Aikido as O Sensei, "The Great Teacher".

The Art of Peace is an ideal, but it developed in real life on many fronts. Morihei in his youth served as an infantryman in the Russo-Japanese War, later battled pirates and bandits during an adventure in Mongolia, and then, after mastering a number of martial arts, served as an instructor at japan's elite military acadamies. Throughout his life, however, Morihei was sorely troubled by the contention and strife that plagued his world: his father's battles with corrupt politicans and their hired goons, the devastation of war, and the brutality of his country's military leaders.

Morihei was on a spiritual quest and was transformed by three visions. The first occurred in 1925, when Morihei was forty-two years old. After defeating a high-ranking swordsman by avoiding all his cuts and thrusts (Morihei was unarmed), Morihei went into his garden. "Suddenly the earth trembled. Golden vapor welled up from the ground and engulfed me. I felt transformed into a golden image, and my body seemed as light as a feather. All at once I understood the nature of creation: the Way of a Warrior is to manifest Divine Love, a spirit that embraces and nurtures all things. Tears of gratitude and joy streamed down my
cheeks. I saw the entire earth as my home, and the sun, moon, and stars as my intimate friends. All attachment to material things vanished."

The second vision took place in December of 1940. "Around two o'clock in the morning as I was performing ritual purification, I suddenly forgot every martial art technique I ever learned. All of the techniques handed down from my teachers appeared completely anew. Now they were vehicles for the cultivation of life, knowledge, virtue, and good sense, not devices to throw and pin people."

The third vision was in 1942, during the worst of the fighting of World War II and in one of the darkest periods of human history. Morihei had a vision of the Great Spirit of Peace, a path that could lead to the elimination of all strife and the reconciliation of humankind. "The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood as a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek competition are making a grave mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst sin a human being can commit. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love." Morihei secluded himself in the country and devoted every minute of his life thereafter to refining and spreading Aikido, the Art of Peace.

Unlike the authors of old-time warrior classics such as The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings, which accept the inevitability of war and emphasize cunning strategy as a means to victory, Morihei understood that continued fighting - with others, with ourselves, and with the environment - will ruin the earth. "The world will continue to change dramatically, but fighting and war can destroy us utterly. What we need now are techniques of harmony, not those of contention. The Art of Peace is required, not the Art of War." Morihei taught the Art of Peace as a creative mind-body discipline, as a practical means of handling aggression, and as a way of life that fosters fearlessness, wisdom, love, and friendship. He interpreted the Art of Peace in the broadest possible sense and believed that its principles of reconciliation, harmony, cooperation, and empathy could be applied bravely to all the challenges we face in life - in personal relationships, as we interact with society, at work and in business, when dealing with nature. Everyone can be a warrior for peace.

Although Aikido originated with Morihei in Japan, it was intended to be a gift for all humankind. Some have chosen, or will select in the future, Aikido as their own particular Way, practicing it on the mats and applying it to their daily lives. Many more have been and will be inspired by the universal message of the Art of Peace and its implications for our world.

More O Sensei Quotes

• “As ai (harmony) is common with ai (love), I decided to name my unique budo Aikido, although the word ‘aiki’ is an old one. The word which was used by the warriors in the past is fundamentally different from that of mine.”
• “Aiki is not a technique to fight with or defeat the enemy. It is the way to reconcile to world and make human beings one family.”
• “The secret of Aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself. He who has gained the secret of Aikido has the universe in himself and can say, ‘I am the universe.’ I am never defeated, however fast the enemy may attack. It is not because my technique is faster than that of the enemy. It is not a question of speed. The fight is finished before it is begun.”
• “When an enemy tries to fight with me, the universe itself, he has to break the harmony of the universe. Hence at the moment he has the mind to fight with me, he is already defeated. There exists no measure of time — fast or slow.”
• “Aikido is non-resistance. As it is non-resistant, it is always victorious.”
• “Those who have a warped mind, a mind of discord, have been defeated from the beginning.”
• “Then, how can you straighten your warped mind, purify your heart, and be harmonized with the activities of all things in Nature? You should first make the kami’s heart yours. It is a Great love, Omnipresent in all quarters and in all times of the universe.”
• “There is no discord in love. There is no enemy of love. A mind of discord, thinking of the existence of an enemy is no more consistent with the will of the kami.”
• “Those who do not agree with this cannot be in harmony with the universe. Their budo is that of destruction. It is not constructive budo.”
• “Therefore to compete in techniques, winning and losing, is not true budo. True budo knows no defeat. ‘Never defeated’ means ‘never fighting.’”
• “Winning means winning over the mind of discord in yourself. It is to accomplish your bestowed mission.”
• “This is not mere theory. You practice it. Then you will accept the great power of oneness with Nature.”
• “Don’t look at the opponent’s eyes, or your mind will be drawn into his eyes. Don’t look at his sword, or you will be slain with his sword. Don’t look at him, or your spirit will be distracted. True budo is the cultivation of attraction with which to draw the whole opponent to you. All I have to do is keep standing this way.”
• “Even standing with my back toward the opponent is enough. When he attacks, hitting, he will injure himself with his own intention to hit. I am one with the universe and I am nothing else. When I stand, he will be drawn to me. There is no time and space before Ueshiba of Aikido — only the universe as it is.”
• “There is no enemy for Ueshiba of Aikido. You are mistaken if you think that budo means to have opponents and enemies and to be strong and fell them. There are neither opponents nor enemies for true budo. True budo is to be one with the universe; that is to be united with the Center of the universe.”
• “A mind to serve for the peace of all human beings in the world is needed in Aikido, and not the mind of one who wishes to be strong or who practices only to fell an opponent.”
• “When anybody asks is my Aiki budo principles are taken from religion, I say ‘No.’ My true budo principles enlighten religions and lead them to completion.”
• “I am calm however and whenever I am attacked. I have no attachment to life or death. I leave everything as it is to the kami. Be apart from attachment to life and death and have a mind which leaves everything to Him, not only when you are being attacked but also in your daily lives.”
• “True budo is a work of love. It is a work of giving life to all beings, and not killing or struggling with each other. Love is the guardian deity of everything. Nothing can exist without it. Aikido is the realization of love.”
• “I do not make a companion of men. Whom, then, do I make a companion of? The kami. This world is not going well because people make companions of each other, saying and doing foolish things. Good and evil beings are all one united family in the world. Aikido leaves out any attachment. Aikido does not call relative affairs good or evil. Aikido keeps all beings in constant growth and development and serves for the completion of the universe.”
• “In Aikido we control the opponent’s mind before we face him. That is how we draw him into ourselves. We go forward in life with this attraction of our spirit, and attempt to command a whole view of the world. We ceaselessly pray that fights do not occur. For this reason we strictly prohibit matches in Aikido. Aikido’s spirit is that of loving attack and that of peaceful reconciliation. In this aim we bing and unite the opponents with the will power of love. By love we are able to purify others.”
• “Understand Aikido first as budo and then as the way of service to construct the World Family. Aikido is not for a single country or anyone in particular. Its only purpose is to perform the work of the kami.”
• “True budo is the loving protection of all beings with a spirit of reconciliation. Reconciliation means to allow the completion of everyone’s mission.”
• “The ‘Way’ means to be one with the will of the kami and practice it. If we are even slightly apart from it, it is no longer the Way.”
• “We can say that Aikido is a way to sweep away devils with the sincerity of our breath instead of a sword. That is to say, to turn the devil-minded world into the World of Spirit. This is the mission of Aikido.”
• “The devil-mind will go down in defeat and the Spirit rise up in victory. Then Aikido will bear fruit in this world.”
• “Without budo a nation goes to ruin, because budo is the life of loving protection and is the source of the activities of science.”
• “Those who seek to study Aikido should open their minds, listen to the sincerity of the kami through Aikido, and practice it. You should understand the great ablution of Aiki, practice it and improve without hinderance. Willingly begin the cultivation of your spirit.”
• “I want considerate people to listen to the voice of Aikido. It is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind. This is Aikido. This is the mission of Aikido and should be your mission.”