Most practitioners of Daito Ryu and Aikido are aware that the word “Aiki” is composed of two characters: The first character conveys the meaning “to unify, come together or fit.” The second character is commonly defined as energy or spirit. It is well known that together they mean the unification of “Ki” energy. What isn’t so commonly known is what these “Ki’s” that come together are, how they fit together, and what the significance of that is.
The lack of manifestation of True Aiki is what makes the martial artist of the past and present, that claim(ed) to to use Aiki, so uniquely unremarkable among martial artists.
This week I will compare how Isoyama Hiroshi describes the feel of Ueshiba Morihei to Aiki 1,2,3. And then Okumura Shigenobu shares some of Ueshiba Morihei’s insights, which I will also relate to Aiki 1,2, & 3.
On November 24, 2023, Chris Li shared another great Sangenkai post on Facebook. It began with the following quote: “Above all, you must find the exact place where the void (shinku no ki) and emptiness Read more…
Dear Dan, As you know, while training at my house you shared that you wanted to learn to play the shakuhachi, and so I gave you my shakuhachi. The last I heard, you had it Read more…
My last explanation contrasted the term Kakete with Atemi in an attempt to clarify that Atemi can stand as a separate skill set. The study of Atemi as a separate skill is unfamiliar to many Read more…