Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Japanese art of self-defense that employs holds and locks and that uses the principles of nonresistance in order to debilitate the strength of the opponent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable A Japanese martial art developed from jujitsu and making use of holds and throws.
  • noun countable A school of the martial art.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a Japanese martial art employing principles similar to judo

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Japanese aikidō : ai, meeting, matching, verbal noun of au, to meet, match + ki, spirit (from Middle Chinese khi`; see chi) + , art (from Early Middle Chinese daw’).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Japanese 合気道 (あいきどう, aikidō), from  ("unity") +  ("spirit") +  ("way").

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Examples

  • According to the press material, not only does Seagal, who has a 7th-degree black belt in aikido, go out on patrol, he is also “an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat.”

    Can we see 400 babies dressed as Steven Seagal Lawman for Halloween? | EW.com 2009

  • He traveled to Japan at the age of 17 where he taught English, studied Zen and perfected his martial arts, eventually earning black belts in aikido, karate, judo, and kendo.

    Five People Born on April 10 | myFiveBest 2010

  • The first movie or two are generic action flicks enlivened by Seagal's slightly unorthodox fighting abilities he uses aikido, which is not usually featured in martial arts movies as it favours defence over offensive attacks, but very quickly we start seeing some of Seagal's iconic touches coming in as he becomes more powerful and able to exert influence on the movie's direction.

    Seagalogy: A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal by Vern Adam Whitehead 2008

  • The first movie or two are generic action flicks enlivened by Seagal's slightly unorthodox fighting abilities he uses aikido, which is not usually featured in martial arts movies as it favours defence over offensive attacks, but very quickly we start seeing some of Seagal's iconic touches coming in as he becomes more powerful and able to exert influence on the movie's direction.

    Archive 2008-07-01 Adam Whitehead 2008

  • Similar to the least effort principles central to internal martial arts styles such as aikido, tai chi, and hsing-i, DVR-fu and Tivodo depend on meeting the blows of network programming at a time and frequency of your choosing, not of theirs.

    the way of DVR-fu badger 2004

  • If nothing else, at least “Near Dark” doesn’t ask us to believe that vampires return from the grave with black belts in aikido.

    Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat 2002

  • While ideally such policies would enact a form of "aikido" on our wishes, using the momentum of our wants for more and better stuff to instead be used to transform society for good, there still needs to be a firm boundary and governmental "center of gravity" that is clear to all (otherwise it cannot perform aikido on anything).

    Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog 2009

  • Whether it's aikido, dancing or stunt kite flying, they force you to concentrate on the rules of the game and action, so there's no room for anything else in your head.

    Joe Robinson: Is Email Making You Stupid? Joe Robinson 2010

  • Rain is experienced in many martial arts -- American boxing and wrestling, and Japanese aikido, judo, and karate.

    Barry Eisler Answers.... 2010

  • How does the practice of aikido factor in the plot of the book?

    Twan Eng Tan - An interview with author 2010

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