History
Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba, known as O-Sensei ("great teacher"). He trained hard in several arts, above all Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu under Sokaku Takeda, and was deeply influenced by the Omoto-kyo religion. The name aikido — "the way of harmony with energy" — was settled in 1942.
Aikido avoids clashing with force: it uses the attacker's movement to throw or pin him with joint locks. After the war the Aikikai, led by Ueshiba's family, spread it worldwide, and his students created styles such as Yoshinkan (Gozo Shioda), Ki-Aikido (Koichi Tohei) and Tomiki/Shodokan, the only one with competition.