Aikido
I took up the practice of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido - the Way of Mind and Body Co-ordination
or Ki Aikido as it is known in 1980. I reached Shodan in 1987 and three years later
I was graded Nidan. My chief Instructor, Mike Stanford, gave me charge of the children’s
class for a time and then the responsibility of the Saturday morning Ki classes and
Aikido training for beginners.
So, what is Aikido?
Break it up into Ai Ki Do and you get Harmony, Power of the Universe and The Way
- the way of harmony of mind and body using the universal power of Ki or Chi as in
Tai Chi.
Good eh?
As an art of self defence I found it was a mixture of mild, apparently wishy-washy
ways of satisfying the need for the New Age followers to feel “at one with the universe”
and a practical way of learning how to do a lot of controlled damage to a body. Fun.
Devised by Uishiba Sensei Aikido was for a long time kept out of the Western ken
and from what I have seen of it his method was smooth, flowing and brutal. Conclusion:
as an art that is all it becomes but as a “way” in relation to the use of the sword,
knife and fighting staff with the locks and body movements added according to the
Japanese Budo, it is a dangerous and devastating form as deadly as Juijitsu.
I taught Ki and Aikido under guidance from my own Sensei (Mike Stanford) with the
help of others involved in the art and learned much about the use of weapons yet
was able to teach a soft and effective art to those who wanted to be nice to each
other.
