In modern times, if you are serious, and ultra hardcore, really serious about being a Samurai, you have to study Aikido. More than merely "the closest thing" to being a Samurai, Morihei Ueshiba insisted, Aikido was "living Bushido." Ueshiba, the martial art's founder argued, that it was no different, from the path followed by Samurai in days past in terms of philosophy, it was different in terms of approach. That is, in 15th century Japan it was legal to kill a man in a duel, or tournament, do that now though, with a Katana, and you are looking at time in a mental institution.

Then there is also the ethics and legality of self-defense; Ueshiba observed, that humanity became more and more corrupt. Whereas 500 years ago, if even so much as government thugs assaulted you, and you smacked the crap out of them, that would be the end of it. In this day and age people are cowards; if they can't get you physically, they'll get you legally, their purpose is to inflict pain any way they can. In a world full of such sociopaths, some of whom have connections and high priced attorneys empowered to destroy your life, Ueshiba, through nearly 2 decades of meditation, eventually came to the realization, that a martial art had to be developed where you do not hurt your opponent at all. See Ueshiba himself was a victim; from the Sengoku period, to the end of the Edo and the beginings of the Meiji, the Samurai, gradually came to lose their priveleges. At first it was only small things, but pretty soon it got to the point where they were no longer mooching of the population.

Pretty soon, all Samurai families had to their name was plots of land; unable to hold any profession in any Japanese cities, the majority of Samurai families, escaped to the mountains or the countryside. Too poor to hold pay for living in a city, and not having the skills for a "real job," they had no choice, but to go live in the mountains or rural communities where they could live off the land, where they could work to grow their own food. The reason, the majority of Samurai families in Japan today, can only be found in the country, is because of the mass migration of that social caste that took place during the end of the edo period. Morihei Ueshiba's own family, especifically his grandparents, was one of those families. See the Ueshiba family, lived in a particularly well forested, visually stunning, visually attractive region of Japan. However, as they say you "can't stop the machine of progress!" Government goons were frequently employed to terrorize and intimidate, the Samurai-turned-hillbilly families, so that they could build things such as factories, schools, etc. That is they would go over to your house, drag you outside and smack the crap out of you if you did not comply, tell you to sign something, days later a wrecking crew would demolish your house, a logging crew would clear the area, and before you knew it, a once natural preserve, was turned into an urban area.

Sorry, no Kung Fu hero Jet Li stuff here; just the harsh reality of the power of the courts, of which Morihei Ueshiba himself was victim. Ueshiba took a vicious beating protecting his father, thus, he resolved to study martial arts. From the age of 8 to 18, a period of 10 years, he became highly proficient in all forms of unarmed Samurai martial arts, in addition to becoming profficient in the study of the Katana, and the short staff, the Jo. Although Samurai were required to learn how to horse ride, use the naginata, the long staff, short staff, katana in ADDITION to the unarmed combat techniques, for all intents and purposes, all other weapons besides the Jo and Katana were "extra." That is, to have the skills of a Samurai, you needed Sumo, Jiu Jitsu, the Jo, and the Katana. Aikido, combines elements of Sumo, with various Jiu Jitsu schools, additionally past the 3rd or 5th dan, if you wish, you can study Iaido ("the art of drawing the sword from its scabbard to cut someone"). Because you do a lot of Zen meditation, and you practice a "streamlined" version of various Samurai unarmed combat arts, in addition to the two required weapons, the Jo and Katana, for all intents and purposes, if you are an Aikido 5th dan, with 5 years experience with both the Katana and Jo, you're a modern Samurai.

Again just because you do not go around dueling people, or participating in major battles, that does not mean you're not; all Aikido represents, is that the role of a Samurai has changed. Aikido takes into consideration the harsh realities of modern day law, and how it has nothing to do with justice in most instances. Law is not concerned with justice, it is concerned with order. You have for example, a situation where say, out on the highway some douche rear ends you, and they keep rear ending you. Next, they pass you at 85 miles per hour and ticked off, you accelerate. Next thing you know, they disappear some backroad somewhere, and you are still going 85 mph. Cop pulls you over, it does not matter that some douche rear ended you, his concern is to prevent car wrecks, not a crusade for justice in hunting down that sociopath. See a lot of people just don't understand that, especially not many martial artists who have a childish view of the world thinking that everything is a Jet Li movie. Ueshiba, when he was a young man, made that mistake; he badly maimed, with his bare hands, goons that had gone to beat up his father. I think he spent 2 or 3 years in prison. From middle to old age, he became an environmentalist, constantly badgering the courts about preserving forested lands in Japan.

In his old age, Ueshiba expressed some regret over studying martial arts; he felt, he should have studied law, that way, he could have protected his father better. To "give back" to the community, he created a "peaceful" martial art. I use quotes, because in Aikido training if you do not attack a training partner full force, the throw just won't work, you need the momentum of a full on attack.

Again, Aikido requires;

1) Grappling skill trademark to the art.

2) Striking skill to help training partners with their grappling skill.

3) Mastery of the Jo, and the Katana

What did Feudal era Samurai require?

1) Sumo and Jiu Jitsu

2) Mastery of the Jo, and the Katana.

As you can see, the training requirements are the same; Sumo I only gave one slot, because its a vast library of techniques, same with Jiu Jitsu some schools, which include striking and kicking. Because you are, in Aikido, basically learning the same required things of a feudal era Samurai, but with a different goal in mind, for all intents and purposes again, if you make it to 5th dan in Aikido, having studied the Jo staff almost from the start, and having studied the sword from the moment you earned your black belt, for all intents and purposes, you're a Samurai. Your skills are the same, you have Zen meditation training, and the ethics have led to spiritual maturity (hopefully).

If you are serious about being a "real Samurai," one with authentic skills the Samurai of old had, Aikido is the way to go.

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