Does no Atemi make Aikido non aggressive?

I have been told that Aikido means Aiki (non-aggressive) Do (Way).

I have been told that this is the reason why Atemi has been eliminated from Aikido to make it more non-aggressive.

I have been told that if Aikido contained Atemi, it would now longer be Aikido, it would be Aiki-Jitsu.

Are all of these statements true?

-TaewandoBabe

[This message has been edited by TaewandoBabe (edited 09-14-2003).]

no to both.

Aikido is modified aikijutsu.Ueshiba had a background in several jutsu arts and aikijutsu. He supposedly had a religious vision, which caused his founding of aikido.

Aikido originaly included atemi. As he became older he modified aikido more and more until it represented his spiritual beliefs.The aikido he taught before he died is called hombu aikido, it includes no atemi. People who studied with ueshiba early on learned aikido with atemi, those who studied with him in later life learned aikido without atemi, but they are all called aikido.
I believe the philosophy and certain underlying principles is what makes aikido aikido, not atemi or lack thereof.

and aikido means way of harmonizing energy
ai(harmonize) ki(energy) do(way)
if aikido once contained atemi waza (some still do) then i dont see how re-entering atemi into aikido would make it less aikido.
as for aikido becoming aikijujutsu i would say no because aikijujutsu is a brutal art, and aikido is not.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TaewandoBabe:
I have been told that Aikido means Aiki (non-aggressive) Do (Way).

I have been told that this is the reason why Atemi has been eliminated from Aikido to make it more non-aggressive.

I have been told that if Aikido contained Atemi, it would now longer be Aikido, it would be Aiki-Jitsu.

Are all of these statements true?

-TaewandoBabe

[This message has been edited by TaewandoBabe (edited 09-14-2003).][/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kempo_jujitsu:
and aikido means way of harmonizing energy
ai(harmonize) ki(energy) do(way)
if aikido once contained atemi waza (some still do) then i dont see how re-entering atemi into aikido would make it less aikido.
as for aikido becoming aikijujutsu i would say no because aikijujutsu is a brutal art, and aikido is not.[/QUOTE]

Yes that's what I don't understand. To say Aikido is not strike oriented because it is the "non-aggressive way" is confusing because Aiki-Jitsu utilizes brutal strikes.

Do only means way, but "Aiki" as in Aikido, Aiki-Jitsu, Aiki whatever. All of the Aiki arts (meaning non-aggressive) should then be like Aikido, if the Aiki means non-aggressive/non-striking?????????????

-TaeKwandoBabe

[This message has been edited by TaewandoBabe (edited 09-15-2003).]

Non agressive, from what I understand, means non-offensive. Aikido is harmonizing because it uses the opponent's force against himself/herself. I learned Aikido for a semester last year and it was the Yoshinkai style, there was striking, primarily to set up for specific locks. It is definitely still Aikido.
I would also suggest posting this under the Aikido section of the forums...you will probably get much more definitive answers from the regulars over there, they seem to know a lot about Aikido and it's different systems.

I have heard stories about people using palm strikes used in Aikido knock out opponents with body shots (Kime).

-Shotokan

I have heard stories about people using palm strikes taught in Aikido knock out opponents with body shots (Kime).

-Shotokan

aiki does not mean gentle..or non striking.
it simply means that you flow with your opponents movements to achieve your goal, be it to throw, lock..or pin...if he lunges forward, instead of trying to stop his momentum, you accelerate it beyond his being able to keep up with his own feet...so you help him along his way..and in essence he throws himself. again aiki means (harmonizing energy) meaning to harmonize your movement with that of your opponent.
and aikijujutsu is brutal..not only in striking...but in all other ways as well, an aikido person will throw you...an aikijujutsu person would throw you and break your wrist, elbow, and shoulder while you are still flying through the air.
in many ways it can be likened to the principle of ju as in judo and jujutsu....it means gentle, soft, compliant etc...but that has nothing to do with a kindness of heart...but that you dont fight your opponenets force directly...because if you do quite simply the stronger of the two will win.
does that help any?

Good post kempo-

I just wanted to hit this point in once again because it does not seem to be getting across.

Aiki does NOT mean non-aggressive.

Ai=harmony
Ki=energy

Joe.

I train in aikikai aikido, which comes from the hombu dojo, 1 of my intructors uses atemi, one doesnt. The difference is, one is very self defense orientated, one is flowerey technique orientated, for me, I prefer the harder instructor, and if you were to come training in my dojo, you would not consider it soft, my instructor advertises it as traditional aikido, which I love and hate seeing the softer classes, because it makes the art look weak and ineffective, I apologise for the biased view, but thats me view.