Introduction - About the training.

       In Yoshinkan Aikido, the movements require accuracy and precision. Natural movements and harmony appear once the time passes and experience is accumulated. All the technics you learn are based on simple movements embeded in the main forms (kihon waza), which is part of every training programme, no matter the experience or belt.

       Rigour is good for beginners as well as for advanced students. For a beginner it offers a reference point that helps him to constantly correct and improve the movements. For an advanced student, rigour means being able to correctly and efficiently apply the technique, whichever the circumstances of the fighting situation.

       In time, one can achieve a complete harmony between body and mind, between the defender's and the agressor's movements. The awareness of the movenemts allow them to intervene precisely and rapidly, exactly wahen it is needed. Instead of inborn reflexes, self-control takes over, and that leads to harmony. This is the final purpose of the continuous training (keiko) - the harmony with all that surrounds us.

       The true purpose of practising Aikido is far more complex. Lots of people long for it, but very few really accomplish it. This becomes visible the moment Aikido goes beyond the training hall and reaches in the personal life style of the matial artist. In words, O-Sensei had explained this supreme experience with the expression: "to be one with the Universe", to be aware that we are part of the universal energy, thus allowing us to use this inexhaustible source of energy.

       But, as I was saying, a very few reach this level of understanding. However, not always the puprose is the one that matters, but the way one follows to get there... Especially in Aikido, the Way followed by the student and the experiences acummulated on this way, will lift his spiritual level, profoundly changing his vision upon the world.

       Nevertheless, no man will come to learn Aikido saying he would want "to be one with the universe"... It's easy to understand. In order to fly, one must first stand and walk. All starts from the bottom, from the simplest things, tightly connected with everyday life, to which you can always associate a practical side. In Aikido this practical side is reached through phisical exercises, closely followed by self-defence technics, all being elements which appear from the person's social need for safety and self-confidence.