In the age of high speeds and scientific and technical revolutions, unprecedented growth of economic progress, a person suddenly discovers that the definition of him as the king of nature is nothing more than a delusion generated by ignorance of many ABC truths of life. Yes, man is the crown of nature. But this crown he has yet to open and establish in itself, restoring the integrity and balance in itself and the relationship with nature. In the meantime, equipped with advanced scientific theories and high technologies, people instead of complacency and confidence in the future, begins to feverishly consider how many years will be enough energy, what is the level of radiation, how quickly the ozone hole is growing and trying to resolve these and many other global issues that have brought civilization to a standstill.

In this regard, no surprise does not cause a person's desire to go deep into himself, without closing at the same time in himself, to know his inner capabilities and relate them to the scale of universal values, to know his uniqueness, to realize his unity with nature and his responsibility to it.

Perhaps this is due to the rapid growth of interest in the philosophy of the East, to the Eastern martial arts. It was the East that synthesized philosophy with martial arts. Many sages since ancient times pointed to the need for mental and physical balance. So the warrior had skillfully wield not only a sword but a brush. The art of calligraphy was valued no less than, for example, accurate archery. The code of Bushi-before recorded: "Has only a brute force is not worthy of the title samurai. Not to mention the need to study science, a warrior should use leisure time to exercise in poetry and comprehend the tea ceremony.»

Unfortunately, these simple truths have come out of the field of view of modern man. Military art, which served not only the military needs of the time, but also a means of understanding the Way, was reborn into sport and became an end in itself. Sophisticated mastery of the technique of battle in itself, in isolation from spirituality, can not serve as a confirmation of the personal merits of the warrior.

Mankind has objectively approached the situation when it is necessary to realize the world as a single common home. But this is possible with the awareness of each person of unity and harmony with the world.

At the beginning of the century, the following words were heard in Japan: "...this is the way in which the world will come to harmony and humanity will become one big house." Told them Morihei Ueshiba meant Aikido. The ingenious Creator of the universal system of self-defense with his synthetic mind and open heart, seeing the future ways of mankind, understood that after going through so many wars on the path of constant rivalry with others, through so many centuries of opposing himself to such a person, a person eventually wants to establish instead of individualism – the cult of universal values, instead of hostility – the realization that we are all children of one big house and that we are more United than separated. And that sooner or later this rivalry will be replaced by the search for unity. And the reaction of mankind to the major cataclysms in different countries that have occurred recently is a clear example of this. Now, when thousands and thousands of people around the world, many countries are passionate about Aikido, and the popularity of this type of martial arts are still very far from the Zenith, it becomes clear words about the mission of the Ueshiba Aikido.

The name of Morihei Uesiba, the founder of Aikido, is surrounded by legends. Say that to him descended the sign of heaven, that he began to glow with Golden light when he reached the state of enlightenment after many hours of training that he could become invisible on their own... Not going to try to separate truth from fiction, but perceive these legends as evidence of the originality of this man on the one hand, respect and love felt for his people.

So what is famous Morihei Uesiba-a man awarded the highest awards of Japan, and whose name sounds far beyond the land of the Rising Sun and is mentioned with the prefix "O" – great.

Morihei Ueshiba the Creator of Aikido. And if the word "Aikido" does not say anything to an uninitiated person, then we can say simply: he is the Creator of a miracle. But not a mystical, mysterious miracle. And the miracle of human labor. For all his life he demonstrated the ability of man to work wonders of perseverance, hard work, painstaking analysis, kindness to people, optimism and joy of life. At dawn, welcoming nature, he repeated: "My heart today has become young and new, and I give it back to my brothers in life."

"Aikido is not a martial art to fight the enemy, it is not a technique to destroy the enemy. This is the way in which the world will come to harmony and humanity will become one big house," says Uesiba at an advanced age, becoming a legend. And at the age of eighty he will add: "the Way of Aikido has no limit. I myself feel like a student every day."

O-Sensei Morihei Uesiba was born December 14, 1883 in the Japanese city of Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture. He comes from an old samurai family, whose pedigree can be traced back to the XVII century. According to the then existing traditions of his upbringing took place from childhood in the spirit of Zen Buddhism and the code of samurai honor – bushi-do. The education of young samurai was inextricably linked with the study of the martial arts.

After the abolition of the samurai class, the young Morihei had to endure unreasonable insults and even humiliation, which awakened in him the desire to stand up for himself. With eighteen years, to gain independence in life, along with the development of commercial crafts, he engaged in intense physical training. Despite the difficult life circumstances and interruptions caused by diseases and wars, Moria in a short time purposefully realized his plans. Under the guidance of famous masters, he has studied various styles of combat jujutsu and swordsmanship (Ken-do).

Following the call of the government (in 1910), Morihei Uesiba went to the development of uninhabited land on the island of Hokkaido. Thanks to his exemplary self-control and selfless work for the benefit of the community, he soon became its leader and received the title of "king of Sirataki" (one of the provinces of Hokkaido) from the settlers.

In 1911, he had a meeting with master Sokaku Takeda, which was important for the future development of Aikido techniques. It was the authoritative teacher practiced since the XI century in the secret schools of the Daito (Daito-ryu), which later evolved Aiki-Jutsu.

This kind of Ju-Jutsu (Ju-jitsu) had an important advantage over other styles, since literally the entire body of the fighter turned into a weapon that was used in throwing, striking and lever combat techniques. Aikijutsu already absorbed many elements of the art of fighting with a sword (kenjutsu), as well as effective ways of removing the enemy off balance and stimuli. Special attention was paid to the concentration (s) of physical and spiritual strength.

Classes Aiki-Jutsu were held only with some, especially gifted students. For his special talent and zeal Ueshiba has been credited by the master takadai among the elect. Having begun the strengthened trainings, he implicitly followed all instructions of the teacher.

In 1916, he completed his studies and received a master's degree. In the spring of that year Morihei Ueshiba meets, Lanesboro, DEGUCHI, the founder of a religious – Omoto-Kyo.

His sermons on that peace and harmony on Earth can only be created with love, tolerance and good man, so captivated by Morihei Uesibu, who was then busy with the technical improvement of martial arts and a constant search for new achievements, that in 1919 he moved to the town of Ayabe, the center of the new Shinto sect Omoto-Kyo, located near Kyoto.

From that time on, intense physical training is complemented by intense spiritual work. It was a time of four years of austerity on the mountain top, a time of hard work and searching for the true meaning of martial arts. Won all, now Ueshiba came into the fight with himself. It is imperceptible, but Titanic work. And from this fight Morihei Uesiba came out the winner.

In 1925, he went down from the mountain to the village of Ayabe, in the middle of the yard doused himself with water and looked at the sky. At this moment, he felt inspired, even tears running down his cheeks as a sign of great gratitude to the heavens and earth as a flash of light shone upon him. He felt that he had become part of the Universe. He heard a voice and found the answer to his question. Mind and body, he felt the truth of nature. He discovered the divine truth.

Later, Professor Uesiba often recalled this day of enlightenment: "One day, while walking in the yard, I suddenly felt a strange feeling as if the earth trembled beneath me. Some Golden mist began to rise from the ground, enveloping me. At that moment I felt the light in my mind and body, and I thought I understood the language of the birds chirping around. Suddenly I felt the presence of the great Creator in spiritual form. The thought dawned on me: "the Basis of all martial arts should be love for everything on earth." From that moment and for the rest of my life I realized that the whole world is now my home, that the Sun and the Stars belong to me. High position in society, fame, honors, wealth – all this has lost its meaning for me forever.

True military art should have nothing to do with brute physical force, which is only needed to bring down the enemy, nor, moreover, with any deadly weapon that leads the world to destruction. True martial art is designed to avoid a brutal struggle, to regulate the universal CI, preserving peace, allowing everything to grow and develop in nature. Thus, exercises in any kind of martial arts should not be an end in itself to destroy the enemy, but, on the contrary, should develop in us a sense of love and respect for others."