What Is Aikido?
In this brief presentation, the speaker draws a parallel between martial arts and business, emphasizing the importance of resilience. He introduces Aikido, a Japanese martial art that emerged about a century ago as a practice of peace and reconciliation. The etymology of the word is explained: "Ai" means harmony, "Ki" means energy, and "Do" means the way, together defining Aikido as the way of harmonizing energy. The core principle is described – when confronted, rather than meeting force with force, one steps aside and redirects the opponent’s energy, achieving a fluid harmonization of wills. This principle is presented as a metaphor for handling setbacks in business: after being knocked down, one must get back up and re‑channel the energy of challenges.
