Aikido is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes evasion, circular movement, timing, balance and redirection. Rather than meeting force with force, Aikido trains students to blend with an attack and use throws, pins and immobilizations. Traditional practice may also include weapons such as the jo, bokken and tanto.
Aikido was developed in Japan in the 20th century and is practiced today through dojos affiliated with Aikikai World Headquarters in Tokyo. At Southland Aikido in Monterey Park, students train in traditional Aikido under James Graves Sensei, 6th Dan, Shihan.
What Makes Aikido Different?
Most martial arts are built around matching force with force: striking harder, grappling more effectively and outcompeting the opponent. Aikido takes a different premise as its foundation.
Aikido trains students to receive an attack by moving off its line, blending with the incoming force and redirecting it into a throw, pin or immobilization. The goal is not to overpower but to neutralize, using timing, centering and connection rather than strength or speed.
This is why Aikido is practiced cooperatively. One partner attacks; the other receives, blends and applies technique. Both roles develop different and essential aspects of the art.
Is Aikido a Martial Art or a Self-Defense System?
Aikido is a martial art with practical self-defense applications, but the distinction matters. A self-defense system is typically a condensed set of techniques optimized for immediate application. A martial art is a lifelong discipline with a technical curriculum, a philosophical foundation and a structured lineage of transmission.
That’s exactly what Aikido is. It builds genuine self-defense skills, but through years of consistent practice rather than a weekend crash course. Training at Southland Aikido isn’t about collecting a fixed set of physical responses; it’s an investment in a lifelong practice that compounds the longer you stay with it.
Aikido’s techniques, such as irimi-nage, kote-gaeshi, shiho-nage and nikyo, address grabs, strikes and multiple-attacker scenarios. The weapons curriculum trains responses to armed attacks. But the deeper development is in the practitioner: attention, timing and the ability to remain centered under pressure.
What Happens in Aikido Training?
A standard Aikido class at Southland Aikido moves through several components. Understanding what each develops helps new students know what they are building.
Warm-up and ukemi: Classes open with movement exercises and ukemi practice, the art of receiving and falling safely. Ukemi is not preliminary; it is a core technical discipline that continues to develop throughout a practitioner’s career.
Paired technique: The majority of class time is spent in paired practice. One partner initiates an attack, such as a grab or a strike, and the other applies the technique being studied. Partners rotate regularly. Everyone trains with everyone.
Weapons work: Southland Aikido includes weapons training in the regular curriculum. Jo (wooden staff), bokken (wooden sword) and tanto (wooden knife) are used to develop the spatial awareness, distance management and movement principles that underpin empty-hand technique.
Closing practice: Classes typically close with kokyudosa or another cooperative breathing and timing exercise, and the formal bowing-out that marks the boundary between practice and the rest of the day.
What Is Ukemi?
Ukemi, the practice of falling and receiving technique safely, is one of Aikido’s most distinctive and transferable disciplines. In Japanese, the word combines uke (to receive) and mi (body): the body that receives.
In practical terms, ukemi means learning to fall in a controlled, relaxed manner, including forward rolls, backward rolls and high falls, without injury and without bracing in ways that cause harm. This requires a combination of timing, relaxation, body awareness and trust.
The hardest part of starting Aikido is usually ukemi. It forces your body to do something counterintuitive: lean into the fall instead of fighting the ground. But the payoff is immense. Mastering safe falling protects you far beyond the dojo walls, and the mental focus it requires is the exact same presence of mind you need for every other technique.
At Southland Aikido, ukemi is developed progressively. New students are not expected to take high falls in the first weeks of training.
Why Does Aikido Use Weapons?
Traditional Aikido includes practice with the jo (wooden staff), bokken (wooden sword) and tanto (wooden knife). For students unfamiliar with Japanese martial arts, the presence of weapons in an empty-hand art can seem unexpected. The connection is direct.
Aikido’s technical principles, including blending, entering and redirecting, are more visible and more clearly felt in weapons practice than in empty-hand work. A bokken makes the line of an attack and the angle of evasion spatially legible. Jo practice develops extension, timing and the management of ma-ai (distance) in ways that translate immediately to taijutsu.
Weapons training is integral to the curriculum at Southland Aikido. Taught weekly, these classes are a required component of kyu testing, ensuring all students build a genuine foundation in essential weapons principles from the very beginning.
What Is the Aikikai Foundation?
The Aikikai Foundation is the parent organization of traditional Aikido, headquartered at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Morihei Ueshiba “O-Sensei”, the founder of Aikido, and continues to be led by the Ueshiba family.
Dojos affiliated with Aikikai Foundation train according to standards set by Hombu Dojo and register student rank through the organization. The structure ensures that a student who trains at an affiliated dojo in Los Angeles is practicing the same art, under the same technical lineage, as a student at Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
Southland Aikido is an Aikikai Foundation affiliated dojo through the United States Aikido Federation, founded under Yoshimitsu Yamada Shihan. Rank earned at Southland Aikido is registered with federation headquarters and, at advanced levels, directly with Hombu Dojo in Japan.
Lineage & Affiliation
Southland Aikido’s lineage runs directly from Aikikai World Headquarters in Japan through the United States Aikido Federation to this dojo in Monterey Park.
Chief instructor James Graves Sensei trained as a live-in student under Morihiro Saito Shihan in Iwama, Japan, one of the closest transmission points for traditional Aikido technique. His 6th Dan and Shihan title were awarded by Aikikai World Headquarters in 2024.