Ki-Aikido (Shinshin Toitsu Aikido)
心身統一合氣道An aikido style founded in 1974 by Tohei Koichi after he left Aikikai. It is built on the four basic principles to unify mind and body and on ki tests.
Quick Facts
JapanCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
Catalogs & Databases for Ki-Aikido (Shinshin Toitsu Aikido)
About Ki-Aikido (Shinshin Toitsu Aikido)
Ki-Aikido, officially Shinshin Toitsu Aikido, that is aikido with mind and body unified, is a style of aikido founded by Tohei Koichi (1920–2011). Tohei studied under Morihei Ueshiba from 1940 and became chief instructor of Aikikai Hombu Dojo. After the war he studied under Nakamura Tempu, from whom by his own account he took the saying that the mind moves the body. In 1971 he founded Ki no Kenkyukai, the Society for the Study of Ki, and in May 1974 he left Aikikai after failing to push through ki-focused instruction. The foundation of the style is the four basic principles to unify mind and body: Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside and Extend Ki. Mastery of them is checked by the ki test, seated, standing and in motion. By his own account, Tohei reorganized the techniques and dropped some of them. Besides examinations, students practice taigi, the performance of sets judged on balance, rhythm and size of movement. The headquarters with a dojo of 520 tatami has stood in Tochigi Prefecture since 1990. Since 2007 the movement has been led by Tohei's son Tohei Shinichi, and the organization lists dojo in 24 countries.
History
Tohei Koichi was born on 20 January 1920 in Tokyo. In 1940, at the age of nineteen, he met Morihei Ueshiba and began to study aikido. That same year he joined the Ichikukai group, where he trained intensively in misogi, breathing and meditation exercises. After the war he studied under Nakamura Tempu, which according to Ki Society shaped his later teaching on ki. Ueshiba promoted him to 8th dan in 1952, and Tohei later became chief instructor of Aikikai Hombu Dojo. In September 1971 Tohei founded Ki no Kenkyukai, the Society for the Study of Ki. By his own account, that same year he proposed teaching ki within Aikikai, but Kisshomaru Ueshiba refused. On 1 May 1974 he resigned as chief instructor, and on 15 May he sent the dojo heads a letter explaining his reasons. On leaving he founded Shinshin Toitsu Aikidokai, aikido with mind and body unified. We have not been able to confirm the position of Aikikai on the split directly. According to Stanley Pranin, the curriculum of Kisshomaru Ueshiba became the official standard of Aikikai, and practitioners had to choose between the two organizations.
How it differs
Ki-Aikido differs from Aikikai aikido in that ki principles are core to instruction, not a supplement. Tohei wanted to teach them in Aikikai and, once refused, founded his own organization. He reorganized the techniques around the principle that the mind moves the body and dropped some. By his own account, he paid little heed to Ueshiba's religious interpretations. According to Ki Society, taigi, which resembles a competition, is meant to show the unity of mind and body, not to judge superiority over others. Bow, walk and ma-ai distance are judged too. Meanwhile Kisshomaru Ueshiba pushed through his own curriculum in Aikikai after 1974.
Technique
According to Ki Society, practice rests on the four basic principles to unify mind and body: Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside and Extend Ki. To these belong the five principles of aikido: ki is extending, know your opponent's mind, respect your opponent's ki, put yourself in your opponent's place, and perform with confidence. By his own account, Tohei learned the principle of seika no itten, concentration on one point in the lower abdomen, during military service. Tohei took the saying that the mind moves the body, by his own account, from Nakamura Tempu and reworked the techniques accordingly. He dropped those he thought illogical, and he himself said that his aikido is about 30 percent Ueshiba's and 70 percent his own. In 1980 he founded kiatsuho, a healing method based on ki principles.
Training
According to Ki Society, instruction aims at correct posture based on the principle that the mind moves the body. Training includes the ki test, which checks the harmony of mind and body seated, standing and moving. Besides aikido, the movement offers separate ki and kiatsuho classes. By his own account, Tohei learned relaxation through misogi and zazen while recovering from pleurisy, which interrupted his judo training at Keio University.
Ranks and progression
Examinations for higher grades, for example Shoden or 4th dan, are held centrally. Anyone wishing to join Ki Society from another group must contact the headquarters, and their existing rank is reassessed. Besides examinations there is taigi, the performance of sets, which is scored from 1 to 10 and judges balance, rhythm and size of movement. Tohei himself received 9th dan in 1960 and 10th dan according to Ki Society in January 1969, while the profile in Aikido Journal gives the year 1970.
Today
Tohei opened the headquarters in Haga-gun in Tochigi Prefecture in 1990 with a dojo of 520 tatami, and the main office is in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo. Tohei Koichi died on 19 May 2011 at the age of 91. His son Tohei Shinichi, born in 1973, had already taken over in September 2007, and Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai was formed with him as president. According to Ki Society, the original Ki no Kenkyukai ran into difficulties after costly construction in Tochigi, and Tohei Shinichi bought the grounds back. The organization lists dojo in 24 countries.
Did you know
By his own account, Tohei claimed to have been the first officially promoted holder of 10th dan in aikido. He first travelled abroad in February 1953, to Hawaii at the invitation of Hawaii Nishi Kai, and stayed there for a year. In 2010 Tohei Shinichi led ki training for the baseball club Los Angeles Dodgers at the team's request. A Japanese study from 2001 measured ECG, EEG and blood pressure during ki breathing, but compared only two people, a beginner and a master.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four basic principles to unify mind and body?
According to Ki Society: Keep One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside and Extend Ki.
How does Ki-Aikido differ from ordinary aikido?
Tohei Koichi built the instruction on the principles of ki and on the idea that the mind moves the body. By his own account, he reorganized the techniques and dropped some.
Why did Tohei leave Aikikai?
Tohei resigned on 1 May 1974 as chief instructor of Aikikai Hombu Dojo because he had not been able to push through ki-focused instruction. We have not been able to confirm the position of Aikikai directly.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.