Rahul Gandhi says he's a black belt in Aikido, but what is Aikido

New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi recently admitted to his love for sports and revealed that he holds a black belt in Aikido. 

Rahul was speaking at the annual meet of the PHD Chamber of Commerce on Thursday when he said, "I do exercise, run and swim, and I am a black belt in Aikido, but I don't speak about it publicly. Sports is very important for me and I spend at least an hour doing sports," he said. 

The Congress leader also agreed to a suggestion that he should put short videos of these activities on his social media platforms.

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What is Aikido all about: 

The sport was founded by Morihei Ueshiba early in the twentieth century following his own extensive study of various armed and unarmed martial systems.

Aikido is a representation of centuries of Japanese martial knowledge. It is one of the most widely practised budo, or martial way, in the world.

Ueshiba, who is often referred to as Osensei or 'Great Teacher', served in the Japanese Army until 1907, during the Russo-Japanese war.

The motive behind developing Aikido was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.

What makes it different from martial arts is the fact that, Aikido is practised as more than simply a method of fighting. 

Aikido is a non-competitive sport. A player does not win by beating his/her opponent, but through demonstrating an understanding of basic exercises and techniques.

As rank increases, these exercises and techniques become more difficult.

It includes a variety of attacks such as kicks, punches, strikes, single-hand or two-hand grabs from the front or rear, chokes, multiple person attacks, and attacks with weapons.

However, the player of this form of martial art strives to resolve the conflict in a non-lethal, non-disruptive, yet effective manner as techniques are usually a defence against an attack.