The Ideogram for “Ukemi” is a picture of accepting the gift of a boatload of rice but in Aikdio it is explained as “the art of falling.” If you have the chance to be thrown by a high-ranking aikidoist you will have a chance to make sense of this as you fly through the air.

The next ideogram is “ai” the character for love. The differences are the addition of the character for heart and an extra line on the bottom character which changes hand into a strike. So the difference between ukemi and ai is receiving a gift in hand vs. having the gift be felt into your heart.

How can a martial self-defense be a gift to someone who is trying to attack you and what is the connection between love and being thrown across the room by an aikidoist? Aikido is an alternative response to violence that preserves the well-being of an attacker and the practice is supposed to reduce violence in ourselves. Instead of exercising one’s right to harm, aikido is designed to give life and allow for self-preservation with the opportunity for resolution. Aikido can be used as a deadly, brutal response to an attack but if it is true to the philosophy and terms chosen for its techniques then the outcome should be the gift of life. The capacity to do harm but the choice to give life is represented in the samurai term “bushi no nasake” or mindful warrior. Ukemi is a picture of someone who could have been justifiably killed that is instead given a years worth of food and sent on their way.

Taking ukemi recently for Bill Witt Shihan, who started Aikido with O’sensei and is Saito Sensei’s senior student in the states, was a great honor and the experience made me think more about what the term meant. I am pretty good at rolling but more importantly I think I have gotten to the point where I trust aikido. I did not worry as I was launched into the air because I know that if it is an aikido technique then my safety is part of the design.