There seems to be as many interpretations of the meaning of ai-ki-do as there are aikidoka, so what exactly does the name mean?

It means "Way Of Harmonizing Energy". I personally think there is something wonderful about a Founder of a Science like this (Osensei) who was/is a Shinto "Saint". I'm NOT a very religious person but I WOULD like to visit the AikiJinja in Japan some day. To Osensei goes the credit for being the FIRST MA teacher from there who opened the doors of knowledge and Budo skill to NON-Japanese. Train hard.

I don't know how much "creative intensions" there is when O'Sensei named aikibudo and aikido. I thought of it as an acknowledgement that aikido is a "budo/do" derived from aikijutsu; although I speculate that "aiki", or harmony, is an important aspect of O'Sensei's teachings.

I agree there are many ways to interprete "ai ki do", so I won't advertise that my interpretation is more accurate than yours, but here is my 2 cents:

I think O'Sensei meant to creat a martial art that doesn't glorify killing, as samurai often do. In old Japan, children of samurai class are often put through "special education" in order to desensitize them about killing men. Often, by the time they are teenagers, they are required to execute prisoners in public to prove they have no qualms about killing. O'Sensei has been through wars and many other hand to hand combats that result in death of his opponent; which is not atypical of his time. However, through a few "enlightenments", and along with changes in society, he sees the needs of alternative to the relentless traditions. And hence aiki - the gentle art of redirecting, instead of destroying, the vigorous energy. An art that focus on let live, instead of giving death. Notice I didn't say enemy, because by identifying the person you are facing as enemy, you've already disengaged yourself from harmony.

Right, I am softie. So I will get a good night sleep and get ready to punch the ladies in the gut again in karatedo tomorrow...

yours in aiki
-raccoon

I agree up to a point raccoon, but I think you may be overlooking the aiki jutsu arts. They don't have the encumberance of all the high morals of aiki-do, and I think I'm right in saying they were as deadly (for want of a better word) as any other MA.

AI and KI are both principles and can be applied individually to any number of arts, I'm interested to learn what people actually thing they are. What is AI, how does it work, what are its limitations etc. The same with KI, they are terms that seek to explain a way of combat, but what is it they are explaining?

Without being disrespectfull, I don't want people to just say "it means so and so" without giving any explanation of what "so and so" actually IS. What does the "Way of Harmonizing Energy" mean?

raccoon - happy gut punching, my friend, but watch out for that grumpy sensei [IMG]http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif[/IMG]