Ki-Aikido
Ki-Aikido is the style of
aikido (a modern
Japanese
martial art) developed by
Koichi Tohei sensei, 10th Dan.
Ki is a Japanese word meaning
Life Force, which is conceptually related to the Chinese
Qi and is of great importance to the way in which Koichi Tohei's style of aikido is taught. Tohei sensei's style of aikido is correctly called
Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido (心身統一合気") - "aikido with mind and body unified" but it is frequently referred to as Ki-Aikido, particulalry in the western world.
Tohei sensei studied judo from the age of 16 and as a result of a training injury developed
pleurisy, in response to this he began studying
zen and misogi at Daitokuji in Kyoto with temple head, Josei Ota Roshi, the breathing exercises he learned would later directly affect the breathing exercises taught as part of the shin shin toitsu aikido curriculum.
In 1939 he began studying aikido with its founder
Morihei Ueshiba. His training was interupted by
World War Two, during which he saw service as an officer. He returned from the war in 1946 and resumed his studies of aikido and misogi. In addition he also began studying Shin Shin Toitsu Do with Tempu Nakamura sensei, much of what he learned from Nakamura sensei would directly influence the devolopment of his aikido teaching methods.
Tohei sensei was asked to come to teach aikido in Hawaii which he did in 1953, and was one of the aikido teachers responsible for spreading aikido to the world outside of Japan. Eventually Tohei was made
Shihan Bucho (chief instructor) of the
Aikido Hombu (world headquarters) dojo in Tokyo. In the late 1960's he was awarded 10th Dan by Morihei Ueshiba sensei, the highest possible rank in aikido.
Around the time of Morhei Ueshiba's death in 1969 tensions were building between Tohei sensei and
Kisshomaru Ueshiba, who was the son of aikido's founder. Whilst Tohei was the chief instructor, it was Kisshomaru Ueshiba who was the designated heir of aikido (he became aikido doshu, doshu meaning
leader of the way upon his fathers death). Much of the disagreement between the two stemmed from Tohei's continuing and increasing emphasis on ki principles and ki exercises which Kisshomaru found contrary to the way his father had taught aikido. This eventually lead Kisshomaru to say that Tohei could teach ki principles if he wanted to but not in the Aikikai hombu, so Tohei began doing just that. In 1971 he established the Ki no Kenkyukai to teach the principles of Ki and Unification of Mind and Body, outside the aikido framework. This eventually made his position as chief instructor untenable and in 1974 he resigned from his position at the Aikikai.
The split and its acrimonious nature divided the aikido world with many other aikido teachers forced to choose between the Aikikai headed by the Ueshiba family and Tohei's new Ki no Kenkiyukai organisation.
Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido commonly referred to as Ki Aikido has specific teaching methods based around the development of mind and body coordination and ki. Much of this teaching is based on the four basic principles to unify mind and body and the five basic principles of aikido, which are:
Four major principles to unify mind and body1. Keep one-point.2. Relax completely.3. Keep weight underside.4. Extend Ki.
Five Principles of Ki Aikido1. Extend Ki.2. Know your partner's mind.3. Respect your partner's Ki.4. Put yourself in the place of your partner.5. Perform with confidence.
Other things which characterise Ki Aikido are the use of
kiatsu massage and
taigi, which are a series of aikido techniques performed to a set time by two people.
According to its own sources, there are currently about 30 000 Japanese members and about 100 000 members overseas in 21 countries. These figures are not including
Kenjiro Yoshigasaki sensei organisation,
Ki no Kenkyukai Association Internationale, which earlier was a part of the European
Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido but broke away in 2003.
The term "Ki-Aikido" is also used for other styles developed by Tohei's students, like
Aikido Yuishinkai by
Koretoshi Maruyama.
*
Ki Society*
Official Ki Society Homepage - Japan*
The official Ki Society website for the United States*
Unofficial Ki Society Homepage*
Oregon Ki Society *
UK Ki Society*
Tohei Gakuen Ki-Aikido Institute - Japan*
Ki Aikido Federation of Great Britain*
Ki No Kenkyukai Clubs of Sweden*
List of Ki-aikido techniques
