master-ueshiba-moriheiTo confront, collide or to fight is not the Way of Aikido.  Aikido's goal is to bring harmony to not only the situation but to the world.  When a person confronts you and tries to destroy you, they are only hurting themselves.  When we live our lives on a plane of higher existence, we can clearly see the bigger picture.  The bigger picture is that this person who is confronting us is really suffering.  As we realize he is suffering, we realize that this person is human and in realizing this person's humanity we realize that they are ignorant.  They are ignorant to the true nature of their suffering and also that their action will only lead them to more suffering regardless to whom they think is to blame.  I recently read a quote from a famous criminal psychologist who summed up why murders are not evil by saying, "Most of these killers are best understood as untreated, traumatized children who inhabit and control the minds, hearts, and bodies of adult men."  We are martial artists who live our lives a different way than the average person.  Our abilities come with a certain amount of responsibility.  Once we can understand our own humanity then we can realize the humanity in others.  Therefore with this understanding we realize the only remedy for this person's attack is to giving them compassion.  Consequently, the Way of Aikido is born.  Aikido does not attempt to destroy other, but to harmonize with them, to give them compassion and hence change the world.  We are all saints and sinners and are all in need of kindness, compassion and forgiveness.  Thus, we cannot destroy others because we would only be destroying ourselves.