Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba. 
Ahhh, Aikido. Damn you, Steven 'The Ponytail' Seagal (shakes cutting-shears heavenward)! Seagal, edging out chief rival Jean-Claude Van Damme (thanks to a redeeming performance in JCVD (2008)) for Top Has-been Cheeseball Action Star status, is easily the most prominent and widely known Aikido practitioner outside of Martial Arts circles. As luck would have it, Seagal has now stepped into the sphere of reality television in Steven Seagal: Lawman, bringing with him his two decades long passion for law enforcement/manhandling-the-untrained and a revolver full of Hollywoodesque quips. God bless America! Fortunately, Aikido is much more dignified and intriguing than a sidelong glance at the once-Ponytailed menace would lead one to believe.
Aikido, is a martial and spiritual form founded by O' Sensei Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969) in Japan during the 1930s. Literally translated as "the way of spirit harmony", Aikido represents the fruit of his efforts to converge mind, body, and spirit into a unifying martial art form, a form that emerged from a complex synergy O' Sensei intuited from beyond his martial practices of Kenjutsu, Kendo,Yagyu Shingan-ryu jujutsu, Kodokan Judo, Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu (most influential), as an expression of the essence of budo, or 'the warrior's path', and the oneness he sensed within all things. In an interview with Aikido Journal, Ueshiba refers to it as "the martial art of love" and states that an aikidoist must achieve "that special state of mind which brings violence into a state of harmony". Using his own words:
In aikido, there is absolutely no attack. To attack means that the spirit has already lost. We adhere to the principle of absolute non-resistance, that is to say, we do not oppose the attacker. Thus, there is no opponent in aikido. The victory in aikido is masakatsu agatsu (correct victory, self-victory); since you win over everything in accordance with the mission of heaven, you possess absolute strength. [...]
It only seems to be mystical. In aikido we utilize the power of the opponent completely. So the more power the opponent uses, the easier it is for you.
Which brings one to ask, "Why on earth include an entry on Aikido on an MMA blog?" Frankly, aside from the fact that it's a martial art that starts with 'A', it gives me a chance to mention Steven Seagal's ponytail. That is all. That, plus the fact 'mixed martial arts' today seems a bit of a misnomer--by and large MMA seems heavily biased toward a very few forms (not all of them martial arts) these days, e.g. striking forms such as Boxing, KB, Muay Thai and grappling forms like BJJ, wrestling, Greco-Roman, Judo. Generally speaking, some purists might say the structure and ethos of early martial arts forms is all but absent in gyms now sprining up to capitalize on the new interest in MMA and hybrid instruction. There's a solid article entitled, "The Truth about Aikido in MMA" (including some thoughtful contributions by commentators) over at SLC MMA assessing why there is so little Aikido visible in MMA. Bas Rutten even weighs in on the matter with his observations here.
As for current Aikido trained MMA fighters on the scene, Rik Ellis is a fighter out of the U.K., who has trained in Aikido with his 5th dan father, British Aikido pioneer Sensei Henry Ellis, since the age of five. Rik now trains with Katie 'Klassy Lassie' Price's on-again-off-again cross-dressing, rebound man-meat , Alex Reid. So, yeah, not gonna see a whole lot of Aikido entering the cage with much presence anytime soon. Check out Rik Ellis's fight versus TKD fighter Russell Dennis here.
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