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THE ETHICS OF SELF-DEFENCE IN COMBAT
Self-Defence
according to O'Sensei MORIHEI UYESHIBA's method must always comply with
certain ethical imperatives. These are many and complex, but for our
purposes here we shall briefly illustrate the basic difference in various
forms of self-defence. Each example represents an ethical level of combat.
The level rises as we proceed from example 1 through example 3.
EXAMPLE #1
 The man (A) on the left, has
not directly attacked the other man (B), but he has provoked the other man
(B) to attack him. It may have been an obvious provocation, such as an
insulting remark or the more subtle provocation of a contemptuous attitude.
In either case, when the other man (B) is invited to attack and does so, he
is killed. While the first man (A) is not guilty of launching the actual
attack, he is responsible for inciting the other man (B) to attack -
unprovoked aggression in the form of an indirect attack. Ethically, this is
one of the lowest levels of self defence.
EXAMPLE #2
 The man (A) on the left
neither attacks nor provokes the other man (B) to attack. But, when
attacked he defends himself in a subjective manner, i.e., he takes cares of
only "number one," and the other man (B) is killed or at least
seriously injured. Ethically, this is a more defensible action than example
#1. The man still standing was in no way responsible for the attack, neither
directly or indirectly. His manner of defence, however, while protecting
himself from possible harm, resulted in the destruction of another man. As
you can see, the result is identical: a man is killed.
EXAMPLE #3
 We have the ultimate in
ethical self-defence. Neither attacking nor provoking an attack, the man on
the left (A) defends himself in such a way, with such skill and control
that the attacker (B) is not killed. In this case he is not even seriously
injured. This last and highest level MUST be the goal of all aikido
self-defence arts. It requires skill: the result of intensive practise of
the technical means of defence devised by the founder, O'Sensei Morihei
Uyeshiba. But it requires more than that. It requires an ethical intention.
A man must sincerely desire to defend himself without harming others. He
must be well on the way toward integration of Mind and Body, of physical
means and ethical motives. He will often have practised various
disciplines. Breathing exercises and meditation are common means employed
in the East to further this integration (these and other disciplines also
being employed in the West).
As we have seen then,
at this ethical level aikido emerges as a Discipline of Coordination, where
a man develops his own coordination of mind and body while helping his
partner or partners to develop theirs as well. The practise of the art of
aikido then becomes a harmonious interaction between 2 or more people,
fulfilling O'Sensei Morihei Uyeshiba's intention via translation of the highest
ethics of the East (and West as well) into vital and active modes of
conduct.
(Shorten Extract
from Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere)
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