AIKIDO means: The way of harmony (Union) with Ki (universal).
Aikido is a modern martial art of Japanese origin, which, being essentially the study of non-collision, non-conflict, it seeks to redirect and harmonize with opposition forces using non-aggressive and non-violent means.
KI AIKIDO; Aikido with mind and body unified, is developed based on the arts of traditional Aikido. It specializes in the development of mind and body Unification (KI Development), where the use of Ki predominates above physical force, by increasing the natural force available through the development of relaxation and self-awareness.
A person’s physical interactions with others reflect his or her habitual patterns of thought, feeling and action. The practice of Mind and Body Unification (Ki Development) and Ki Aikido, shows that changes in the way we perceive the world can bring about changes in movement, changes in movement can bring about changes in our worldview, in who we are, in the way we interact with our relationships and with the world. The positive changes in the mind will become positive changes in the body; positive changes in the body will become positive changes in the mind.
This practice, besides providing specific tools to handle conflict, stress, and to harmonize with ourselves and our environment, it gives us a unified state that promotes health, correct use of the body, self-confidence and cohesion in life, thereby enhancing all our mental and physical abilities.
Ki Aikido is not a sport or competitive practice; it is an art of life, which practice is comprised of a variety of disciplines that complement each other covering all fields from the physical and physiological to the psychological and spiritual. Primarily:
SHIN SHIN TOITSU DO, Mind and body unification (Ki Development)
SHIN SHIN TOITSU AIKIDO, Aikido with mind and body unified (Ki Aikido)
KENKODO, The way of health.
Due to its nature of search for harmony, there is not age limits for its practice, and anyone can practice it. It is possible to practice Ki Development and Kenkodo independently and separately from Aikido.
Aikido offers a completely different and surprisingly innovative approach with respect to the common Japanese Martial Arts.
A new message is found in the overview of their methodology and didactics. Being Life the field of practice, this is not limited to the mat, to the ring or training gym, affecting humans in their relationship with the world, with life. This accomplishment is achievable mainly through the own perceptual ability, experiencing self-awareness as well as the perception of space and time. It is with this general view that the relationship with the opponent is created. The perspective is one in which “you attack me, I do not”, which when I do not participate in the challenge, I do not create conflict, do not block, do not hit, do not offer resistance, but created a situation in which your attack is depleted without causing harm to anyone. Thus the task of Nage (the practitioner) is to manage the situation so that the attack of Uke (the attacker) does not occur. The practitioner will then use the old techniques designed to break or to deter trough pain, so to guide the partner in the execution of the attacking action, without damage and without creating any resistance.
Aikido is an extremely educational discipline as most of the Arts. Today, the most appropriate way to define Aikido is understand it as an art, as the Doshu Kenjiro Yoshigasaki says: “The arts, such as music, dance, painting, theatre, sculpture, poetry, etc., comes from the real world but create a new reality that is not a copy of the real world. This new reality that is beautiful and harmonious leads the world to become a better world. This is why the arts are very important to humans. Aikido is an art of danger. …After understanding our life and the world as one and all the different dangers as one, we realise that any attack on others is also part of the danger in our lives. The art of Aikido consist in the development of beautiful and harmonious techniques that creates a new reality of the real danger situation in the real world. This art will also help us to live in the same way our daily life that is full of danger. Which means that Aikido is the art of life.”*
*Kenjiro Yoshigasaki: Aikido Arte di vita. Vol 1, Erga Edizioni, Génova July 2012.