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Can
you explain the process by which you took the Aikido arts and developed a
system of Aiki Exercises, Health Exercises, and then more recently the
Oneness Rhythm Exercise, and how all of these are related to Aikido?
After I first went to Hawaii
in 1953, I went back many times to teach on each of the islands, as well as
the mainland. When I returned to a dojo, I often found that people couldn't
remember or agree on what I had taught them before. It seemed that many of
the Aikido arts were very difficult to do, particularly when working with
different partners. I then created and taught a set of Aiki Taiso, or
exercises that you could do by yourself, which used the basic movements of
the Aikido techniques. This made the techniques easier to remember,
particularly as I had all kinds of people coming to my classes, young and
old. If you practice something long enough you will learn it. However, few
people had time to devote single-mindedly to learning Aikido. It bothered me
that even these exercises were not enough for people to remember it between
my visits. They could do it correctly when I was there, but by the time I saw
them next they had already lost it! It simply didn't stick. It then occurred
to me what was missing. If the secret is that the mind moves the body, then
just going through the physical motions is not enough. To solve this problem I
had people try doing the same movement in each exercise twice, and amazingly
this worked every time. Even beginners were able to coordinate mind and body,
and be very stable when tested after doing the same movement twice. On the
first movement the mind was not fully directed to the action; but on the
second movement the mind and body were unified. Once lost, twice found. At my
wife's urging I then developed this into an exercise routine that could be
done to music, calling it the Oneness Rhythm Exercise. Though even now some
of my own students misunderstand, thinking of this as a substitute exercise
for people who don't practice Aikido, in fact is really a shortcut to
improving your Aikido. The exercise trains you to relax and maintain proper
rhythm, which is also the key to making an Aikido technique effective. This
is why we require our students to learn it before testing for black belt. You
needn't take anyone's word for it either. Doing a Ki test before and after
you can see for yourself how well it works.
You have made many
changes in the Aikido arts over time, important changes in the way throws or
joint locks are done, to make them more consistent with Ki principles. Can a
person who practices another style of Aikido, or even another martial art
such as Judo or Karate, apply Ki principles with the techniques he has been
taught?
Of course Ki principles can apply to any martial art, even to sports,
dancing, or other forms of exercise. There are four basic principles: Keep
One Point, Relax Completely, Keep Weight Underside, Extend Ki. None of these
is restricted to Aikido, and in fact all can be applied to anything you do in
daily life. I taught these basic principles to baseball professional Sadaharu
Oh, and he broke the world record for home runs. The basic principles of the
universe apply to anything you do. The reason people get poor results is
because they try to go against natural principles. If you remember the
principles and apply them subconsciously, they work for you every time.
However, people have the bad habit of forgetting the fundamentals as soon as
they make a bit of progress. That is why you need to keep training.
You have
established at system of Olympic-style competition, unique in Aikido, using
the Taigi arts. What was your reason for doing this, and what are your
ultimate goals for the Taigi competition?
Ueshiba Sensei taught that Aikido was based on non-dissension, and because of
this he banned competition from Aikido. However, if non-dissension is wrongly
interpreted it can mean running away from the problem, escaping. The real
point is that, in the face of conflict the one who is truly relaxed is the
strongest. In ordinary competition you pit strength against strength, and the
strongest one wins. But today's winner will meet his match tomorrow. No one
is invincible. True, that Aikido does not pit strength against strength,
instead overcoming strength by joining with it and leading. Even so, if you
never test it under competitive conditions, how do you know if you really
have it or not? But ordinary competition makes it possible for people to
practice under sheltered or ''fixed'' conditions, with the risk of developing
bad habits that will not help you on the street, where the attacker is not
playing by the same rules. The real meaning of non-dissension is to relax in
the face of conflict, to respect the opponent's Ki, and to lead it to a
non-harmful conclusion.
The Taigi Competition is
not an opportunity to see who is stronger than whom, but rather to test,
demonstrate, and perform Aikido arts, in front of an audience and judges who
score according to strict criteria. The most important things we look for are
Fudoshin (stability, balance), Modulation of Rhythm, and Fullness of Ki
(largeness, beauty). There are dozens of additional criteria that are more
specific to techniques, but these are the most important. Your habits of
daily practice become very clear under the pressure of the Taigi Competition.
But this is quite different from a fighting match.
If you lead a person
where they want to go, they will gladly follow. If wish for their benefit,
they will not resist. But if you selfishly leave others behind, of course
they will resist and you will have conflict. This is the problem today, with
everyone out for themselves, not caring about the consequences of their
actions to others or to the environment. This is the result of a hundred
years of 20th Century materialism, which placed the body before the mind. The
5 principles of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido also apply directly to the art of
leading people: Ki is extending, Know your opponent's mind, Respect your
opponent's Ki, Put yourself in your opponent's place, and Lead with
confidence. We demonstrate this step-by-step in the way we teach every Aikido
art, but it works equally well in business or sales. If company executives
did this their employees would work happily and work hard. It is the same for
parents and teachers. The primary purpose of Aikido is to train and develop
Ki, and the Taigi Competition provides an opportunity to test and demonstrate
it at a high level.
You developed a
method of Ki healing called Kiatsu Therapy. How is Kiatsu different from
Shiatsu and other forms of ''Oriental'' massage?
The biggest difference is in whether it is based on Ki principles or not. If
you persistently do things against natural principles, you are likely to end
up exhausted or sick. The greatest mistake many people make is to assume that
the therapist is the one who heals the patient. Even doctors tend to forget
the life force when treating a patient. It is the patient's own life energy
which heals, and all the therapist does is help stimulate the flow of Ki,
which is what actually heals the patient. When a person is weak and needs
help, Kiatsu can help them get back on their feet. However, a person will
achieve more lasting results if they take responsibility for their own mental
and physical health. A large percentage of illnesses are caused or aggravated
by stress. The best thing you can do for your health is to learn how to relax
and develop strong Ki.
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INTERVIEW
with Master Koichi Tohei & Waka Sensei
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