The basis of Aikido is peace and harmony with the world around us. I began training five years ago and it is still difficult to see the view of the world through the eyes of the first great Aikido teachers, but it’s not like some of these ideals are impossible to see. The extent of serenity and true peace that Aikido can give you is an amazing thing to experience. Even though I have only taken my first few steps into realizing something bigger about Aikido, the answers are right in front of me.
         I began training in Aikido at a fairly young age. I was fresh out of third grade and had been signing up for summer academy classes, but my mom had been worried about me because I had gotten into fights. At the time I was not exactly all that great at standing up for myself. I was always more of the nerdy kid in the back of the classroom, so while looking through the classes (most of which I had little to no interest in), I noticed some odd Japanese symbols right next to a class description. The class was called Aikido. I had no clue what that meant, but the description read that it was a self-defense class, and I had just turned old enough to enter the class. It was the perfect solution, finally a chance to do something cool instead of being looked down upon
         I learned later on that Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba. From a young age he obtained a firm focus from his father and an interest in religion from his mother and it is said he even wanted to become a Buddhist priest for some time. When he was still young he was rather sickly and had distaste for going outdoors until he gained encouragement from his father and inspiration due to stories of his lineage to a great samurai. He trained in several martial arts including Jujitsu, Fencing, and Spear Fighting, and in 1903 joined the infantry and received several ranks because of his fighting capabilities. After the military he found that he wanted to find a deeper meaning to life and turned to religion.
With all that he had learned he combined both religion and martial arts to create Aikido, using the movements found in Jujitsu and modern day Judo, along with the leg and hip motions found in Fencing and Spear fighting. These, combined with some of his own ideas and innovations, created Aikido, which literally means “the way of harmonizing life’s energy”.
         My first day of Aikido was heavily anticipated. I had been waiting for weeks on end to step inside the dojo and learn how take someone down with the most simple of movements. After taking my shoes off, which I learned was a sign of respect considering how shoes are almost as dirty as your feet, I was hit with the smell of the dojo, a combination of cleaning supplies and tiger balm. I was amazed the first time I set foot on the cool mats and saw pictures lined by some kind of altar, known as the shomen, and the back wall was lined with weapons. I was so tempted to use one of the wooden swords or staffs, but I would have to wait a few weeks. When I caught a glimpse of the sensei I was very surprised he wore a bleach white martial arts outfit on top but a huge black skirt. It didn’t make sense until he explained it was used to hide footwork, which was understandable considering how what he was wearing was based off of samurai attire. He was stern, sitting on his knees not far from the shomen. He was clearly a bit older with a receding hairline, but as he first addressed the class, you got a feeling of acceptance and welcoming that filed the entire dojo but with a side of seriousness.
We made a line and he took attendance, and told us how to sit properly on top of our knees. It was some kind of etiquette thing, with the feet being dirty, and it was no problem, until your knees got sore.  He walked up to the shomen, and rang a small bell and addressed us once again and told us why he did what he did. How the bowing was out of respect to the first teachers, how he used the bell and clapping as a way of saying we are to begin training. Wide eyed and at full attention I hoped I could impress him and become a master one day.
         Even though Aikido is derived from several different martial arts, its teachings are different. While other martial arts primarily focus on victory, Aikido is different because rather than using force, you learn to work with your opponent and use the energy that has been shown against you in a way that makes you move out of harm’s way. It was a sensation of learning how to be like water and move where the current takes you. It was something you can’t get a full understanding of until you experience it in person.  Aikido felt amazing to experience and feel throughout your entire body and it was amazing how it was an art of love and peace and yet still is a part of physical training.
         The shomen was not a religious item to my surprise, but as mentioned before it was placed there out of respect to the creator of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. Next to his picture was the picture of another old man, Michio Hikitsuchi-sensei, the teacher of the sensei who taught us for those six weeks, I learned our sensei’s name was Mr. Weber. It was easy to remember his name because his hair looked much like W just upside down, it was very funny to a ten year old kid.
In those first six weeks, I learned the very basics of Aikido such as how to do a roll so that you won’t snap your neck, basic twists, and simple throws. But the forty five minutes I got to train never felt like enough, and after each session I slowly began to crave Aikido even more. At home it was all I would talk about, all I would think about, and I would be waiting until I could take those steps barefoot onto the cold, hardwood floors and get that rush of how peaceful the room felt. I grew to think of the dojo much like a home, away from home, odd as that may sound it felt right.     
Aikido had begun to change me inside. All of the other students didn’t feel like total strangers, anyone who entered the dojo felt very much like family, and not having very many friends in school it really did feel like something special to me. I got into fewer fights at school. I began to relax in general and see that the brief meditations about showing kindness to all people equally, finding and correcting small self-centered qualities, and seeing how what you do can have a large impact on people, were completely true. All the lessons that people just ignore or the small act of kindness that people don’t recognize all hit me, in one giant epiphany that was right in front of me the entire time.
After training in the dojo for six weeks I was able to continue twice a week for close to a school year, but after that I had to stop. Dad had begun to have back problems and bills piled up. I couldn’t go anymore. There are few moments where I can ever willingly admit to crying over something and this is one of those moments. Aikido had become more than just some after school activity or a hobby, Aikido had become something that I could get the greatest physical release from and it had been a part of me. I was completely devastated for about a month. I didn’t go inside the dojo from the summer of fourth grade up until the beginning seventh grade. It was a whole two and a half years without aikido.
         My return to the dojo was something I was scared of. But  Kristyna, my older sister, and Matthew, a good friend of mine had talked me back into joining up again. I had faint memories of the dojo’s interior and what Mr. Weber looked like, and I tried to remember what the cool feel of the mat would be like under my feet again. The weight of the wooden swords, and the sensation of throwing my partner into the mat. I barely remembered how to roll, and could only remember two or three parts of a few techniques.
I walked through the high school doors on that cool autumn day, walking down the hallways behind Kristyna. I breathed in a few breaths and saw the open door of the dojo, and inched closer until I was right in the doorway. After Kristyna re-introduced me to Mr. Weber I got to hear the words I had been wanting to hear.
“Kurtis, welcome back to the dojo”.
I was where I belonged, I was home.