"Practice the Art of Peace sincerely, and evil thoughts and deeds will naturally disappear." - Morihei Ueshiba, The Art of Peace, Translated by John Stevens.
The spread of Aikido will make the world a more peaceful place… one person at a time.
The idea that Aikido will somehow cause masses of people to behave in a more peaceful manner is a misunderstanding of how Aikido practice engenders an aversion to violence among practitioners. I'm not entirely sure how practicing Aikido has managed to foster peace in my own life; I only know that it has. Over the years I have seen Aikido work its way into peoples' lives and change them in fundamental ways. Not everyone mind you but some, more in fact than not.
So now, here in Great Barrington, there exists a small knot of people who practice a peaceful way of living as a result of Aikido study. I'm sure our little corner of the world is not the only place where this has happened. There must be other groups of people who share our passion for Aikido and find themselves living a more peaceful existence. It certainly won't happen overnight, but over a long period of time as more people become exposed to Aikido the numbers will grow. And perhaps, just perhaps, generations from now the world will be a more pleasant place to live… unlikely? … maybe, but one can hope.
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