The Whitman Aikido Club provides the Whitman community with mental and physical training in the traditional aikikai style of the defensive Japanese martial art of Aikido. Developed from Kendo and Aiki-jujitsu, Aikido teaches the skills of effective conflict resolution, including open-hand weapons take-aways. Aikido practitioners will develop excellent physical fitness while learning the principals of a form in which the objective is to not only protect oneself but also one's attacker. Although a martial art, Aikido is also a spiritual practice which ties in concepts of meditation to achieve complete body coordination and an understanding of ki (life energy) through breathing.