Essentially, “ai” may be translated as love or harmony, “ki” as life energy, and “do” as way or path.  Thus, the characters comprising Aikido may be translated as the way of harmony, or the way of peace.

In other framing, Aikido is both a movement meditation as well as a martial art.  In Aikido, one’s attention is invited to be open, while the movement forms are curvilinear and spiraling, constantly changing in the open space of the dojo, and elsewhere.