AIKIDO

AIKIDO LESSONS, ZEN CENTER ATHENS

The word Aikido consists of three ideograms:

合 – ai= Harmony, unification
気 – ki= Energy, power
道 – dō= Path, method

Aikido is a Japanese martial art created in the early 20th century by Ueshiba Morihei (1883-1969). After World War II, Aikido became one of world’s most popular martial art under the leadership of the founder’s son Dosu Ueshiba Kisomarou the 2nd (1921-1999). Today, Dosu Oueshiba Moriterou the 3rd (born in 1951), grandson of the founder, is leading the Global Headquarters of Aikido.

Aikido is an educational system that follows the training methods of traditional Japanese martial arts within the context of modern society and it emphasizes on spiritual growth. Aikido is not a sport and, therefore, there are no competitive fights. It develops real power by forging both the mind and the body. The techniques are based on natural movements without undue stress on the body and therefore men, women, young and old can practice it.

Aikido is the martial art of love and harmony. Techniques are based on absorbing the movement of the attacker and redirecting the force of his attack. This requires minimum physical strength, as the momentum of the attacker is neutralized with standstills and throws.

The art of Aikido offers a complete system of self-defense and develops the physical and mental state of the practitioner.

The teacher-Sensei

The Sensei at Tokaido Dojos is Petros Moulagiannis (5 Dan Aikikai).

  1. Moulagiannis sensei started practicing martial arts in 1989, at the age of 18, with Shotokan Karate (1st Dan). When he later discovered the art of Aikido, it immediately won him over with its philosophy, its harmonic kinesiology and the completeness of its techniques.

He started his Aikido training in 1996 at FukuShinKan Dojo under the teaching and close guidance of Sensei Giorgos Koliopoulos (6o Dan Aikikai).

In August 2000, he acquired the 1st Dan Aikikai, in June 2003 the 2nd Dan Aikikai, in January 2007 the 3rd Dan Aikikai, in December 2010 the 4th Dan Aikikai and in January 2017 the 5th Dan Aikikai.

For many years, he taught Aikido at the Fukushinkan Dojo of sensei George Koliopoulos, serving as his assistant (initially as Fukushidoin and then as Shidoin). Meanwhile, his restless spirit, his urge for knowledge and his desire to deepen and broaden that knowledge of the magical world of Aikido led him to practice and train for many years at the dojo “Aikido of Athens,” under the teachings of Janet Clift Sensei (6 Dan Aikikai) and Eamonn Devlin Sensei (5 Dan Aikikai).

Through the years of his practice in Aikido, he has attended and continues to attend, both in Greece and abroad (Italy, Germany, Norway, France, and Switzerland), many seminars by well-respected teachers, such as Doshu Moriteru Ueshiba, Shihan Tada, Kobayashi, Sugano, Asai, Yokota, Fujimoto, Fujita, Inaba, Miyamoto, Arai, Rokubota, Hatayama, Sugawara, Mori, Minegishi, Tissier, Smith, Jones, Brady, Hayward, Olsen, Waite and Sensei M. Erb Guillemin, B. Gonzalez, R. Martucci, R. Shirakawa, and others.

Since 2004 he has been practicing Iaido and currently holds the 4th Dan degree.

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