A little introduction!
A little introduction
         

     O-Sensei Morihei Ueishiba (1883-1969) came from a poor family of free-samurai and was born in Tanabe, a little village south from Osaka. He was educated in the spirit of Buddhism and after the rules of Bushido (the way of the warrior). The teaching of Bushido meant also the learning of a Martial Art (Bu-Jutsu) and the qualities of the mediaeval knight: honour, honesty, patriotism, courage, wellbeing...
     His father began to teach him Aiai Riyu at the age of 10. (Aiai Riyu uses a method of hand contact, following elements of Tai-jutsu and Kendo.) However, the family thought that Morihei should take an easier job, and so at the age of 15 he was sent to Tokyo to work as a vendor. The difficult life in Japan made him seriously reconsider becoming a student in Martial Arts and at the age of 18, he began studying Ju-jutsu.
     When Morihei returned home a few years later, he learned of the death of his father. At his father's grave, he vows to learn the secrets of Budo at any cost. But in time, his friends began to worry that Morihei would destroy himself due to the intensity of his endless training, meditations, and prayers. But in 1919, he moves with his family to Ayabe, and in 1912 he earns a Master's Degree in Ju-jutsu at the School of Shinkage. Then in 1924, he began his studies with the spear and, by this time, it was clear that he was taking his first steps in creating Aikido.
     One day, in the spring of 1925, a duel using wooden swords took place between Morihei and a marine officer, also a fencing professor. At the end, the officer tired and quit the match without ever touching O-Sensei Morihei. After the duel, O-Sensei told...knew... that he felt his opponent's moves before they happened.
     Later, in his memoires, Morihei said, "The way of Budo means to receive the positive energy and love from the universe, to act correctly, to assimilate this energy and to use it in your body and soul." This revelation marked the entire life of O-Sensei. From this point until his death, O-Sensei Morhei Ueshiba devoted all the energy of his being to develop the techniques of Aikido in the way of harmizing his teachings with his morality.