Aikido (合気道 Aikidō, also 合氣道 using an older style of kanji), literally meaning "harmony energy way", or with some poetic license, "way of the harmonious spirit", is a gendai budo — a modern Japanese martial art. Practitioners of aikido are known as aikidoka. It was developed by Morihei Ueshiba (植芝盛平) (also known by aikidoka as o-sensei (大先生)) over the period of the 1930s to the 1960s. Technically, the major parts of aikido are derived from Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術), a form of jujutsu with many joint techniques, and kenjutsu (剣術), or Japanese sword technique (some believe especially the tactics in Aikido is influenced by Yagyū Shinkage Ryū). Aikido is also considered to contain a significant spiritual component.
