AIKIDO KOKIKAI @ NEW JERSEY'S CAPITAL

  101 S Warren St 

Class Monday and Wednesday 7:30

Bring out the Samurai in You

Kokikai. GET HOT!

We are enrolling students August 14th! 

There will be the fun 

GET SOME!

Kokikai members who would like to help let me know

We Are Missing the Mark

Various leaders in Budo, especially Aikido,  have expressed the belief that martial art should not only help develop individual character, but also have a connection with, and should play a role in the betterment of the society. If I remember correctly, (some of my books seem to have sprouted legs) without this, O Sensei believed martial arts become brutal fighting arts that threaten society.

The importance of this is overlooked. I believe the instances of excessive force by police that we've seen in the news recently, especially the most recent, which ended in the death of a civilian, is an example, of how such disconnection, plays out in society.

The context defines the legitimacy of the force used. When the severity of the force far exceeds what is necessary.In this case, not only was the technique the officer employed illegal, it was, in a word, brutal. The history of the disconnect between racial minorities and local police-community relations is well documented, as is the rationale for the official prohibition of the use of choke holds on civilians.

As Aikidoists, it may be out of our purview to judge the relative points of contention; however, we are absolutely in accord with the principle to reconcile conflict. When employed correctly, our art is uniquely designed to be effective with minimal harm. In this context we have a contribution to make, so let's make it.