Many people know there are no tournaments in Aikido. But many people do not understand the reason for the absence of competition in Aikido practice. They sometimes explain it that the “real” application of Aikido techniques in regular practice is too dangerous and it is “better to reserve these techniques for the application in real situations of aggression” (like making a hint that it is not nice to hurt your training partner, but for a bad guy on the street application of dangerous techniques is justified). On one hand it makes sense (convenient argument of a common man with a common perception). But the true mission of Aikido is completely different. There are many effective techniques of self-defense, as well as offensive tactics, in other martial arts, – there is no need to learn specifically Aikido in such regards.

Many people perceive Aikido as the product of Japanese culture. They also say it is good for building the character. All of it is true if Aikido is applied as an instrument to perform conventional physical gymnastics for physical education and to get acquainted with the “cultural” practices of Japan. Such approach is quite comfortable for a common man who seeks confidence in their own physical capabilities and also affiliation to promising exotic eastern practices, which attract with some abstract philosophy about power of the spirit. There is no doubt about the usefulness of physical exercises for the human body. As for the “philosophy” of Aikido: “it is not quite clear for now…” – but it is comfortable from the fact that it is somewhere near, – it means: “I’ve already mastered this partially and will master it entirely in the future”. But this will never happen! There is no partial quantitative knowledge within qualitative processes. Everything is interdependent, and clarity is the must.

All the posted materials on the SAA portal represent an attempt to deliver the message to all people about the value and importance of Aikido as the instrument of finding the mission of life and achieving the mission goals.

We all wish to live in a comfortable world. Comfort comes from understanding things and processes which are revealed by us in the surrounding world. The comfort also comes from understanding the level of control that can be achieved to influence the discovered environment. In such a way we shape our view about ourselves, the surrounding world and our interaction with it. Our opinion or our world view is a reflection of our “comfort” (the understanding of our role in the surrounding world), which is usually stands out in a rigid static protectionist form. Besides, the value of having an “own opinion” is a result of education (it comes from outside as a learned behavior) and nurtured individualism - that is good (for surviving in our world). Nevertheless, there is a weakness in preservation and protection an “own opinion”, (because this is the cause of stagnation in our development. We need to constantly undermine our world view in order to progress and go forward in our evolution).