Aikidos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An evolving Japanese martial art focusing on self-defense through blending with an opponent's movements
2. A discipline emphasizing harmony and energy redirection rather than brute force in physical confrontations
3. A holistic practice that incorporates physical techniques alongside mental and spiritual development for personal growth

Etymology: "Aikidos" is simply the plural of "aikido," so the real story belongs to the singular. The art was named in Japanese as 合気道, pronounced aikidō, built from three elements: 合 (ai), meaning "together" or "unify"; 気 (ki), meaning "spirit" or "breath"; and 道 (dō), meaning "way." Read together, the name means something like "the way of adapting the spirit," a phrase that already points to the art's central idea of blending with an attacker's force instead of meeting it head-on. The word came into English as a borrowing directly from Japanese, so it keeps its Japanese shape rather than being translated or adapted through another European language. Its close relative is "hapkido," a Korean martial art, and the two are doublets: they share a common ancestry in the Chinese-derived characters and sounds of their names, but reached English as separate words.

Synonyms: martial arts, self-defense techniques