Ki Development involves movements, exercises and testing which allow the student to understand the true meaning of co-ordination of mind and body.
Through these exercises students learn how to extend their minds, and to move lightly with relaxation and calmness.
Working with a partner in this way allows the student to deal with the stresses and tensions in an ever-changing world, to eliminate fear and generate a state of well-being.
How did Ki Aikido come to be?
With the aim of being clear and succinct, this explanation is very limited and simplistic. I would recommend a lot of further reading if you want a more in-depth understanding.
A little bit of history and a lot of practise is definitely the best approach though!
Aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba (O’Sensei) around 1925, based primarily on his study of Daitoryu Aikijujutsu combined with spiritual revelations gained in the Shinto based Omoto-Kyo organisation.
Koichi Tohei was O’Sensei’s most senior student, given the rank of Chief Instructor, and one of only two people awarded 10th Dan.
Tohei Sensei also seriously studied Shinshin Toitsudo (The Way of Unifying Mind and Body), that had roots in Raja Yoga, under Nakamura Tempu. He felt that Tempu Sensei’s teaching method and
explanations were very effective in clarifying and explaining the amazing things O’Sensei was able to do. So he used aspects of Tempu Sensei’s methods, which he termed Ki Development, to teach people how to unify mind and body, and bring those principles into the movement and applications of Aikido. The concept of ‘the mind leads the body’ was fundamental to this approach.
In 1974 he went on his own, teaching a fusion of Shinshin Toitsudo and Aikido he called, perhaps unsurprisingly, Shinshin Toitsu Aikido (Aikido with Mind and Body Unified). Informally this was quickly shortened to Ki Aikido.
Through working with a partner we are able to explore the differences between the co-ordinated and non co-ordinated state. Within a short period of time, the sub-conscious mind learns to prefer the feeling of co-ordination and this gradually becomes the student's natural state.
