 
2010-5-18 （Brazil / SaoPaulo） Aiki Demonstration
[Ⅰ] About Aiki Skill 15 April 2015
Aiki is just a word. I think that we should accept this word not some name
of martial arts, but as name of some skills. In Japan, there are several ancient
martial arts that are following traditional skills and forms. Perhaps Aiki will be one
of them, besides we will recognize that it is a non-competitive skill.
After
the Second World War, as far as I know, GM Morihei Ueshiba created Aikido by using
Aiki skill of Daito-Ryu Aiki Jujitsu and other martial arts.
Aiki skill is comprised of small and subtle motions, therefore from that
time, the private lesson seems to have been common practice. But since
that present time mass training has become the mainstream, and the type
of skill has changed too. Now big motions that are easy to see are
the norm. I think that Aikido is composed of these two types. When I showed
Aiki to my Taiwanese friend 15 years ago, he was surprised and said, “it’s
a skill of Neigong” At that time, I completely didn’t know the meaning
of Neigong. I remember that I answered soon, “This is Aiki, not Neigong.”
But it seems that Aiki exists in the category of Neigong in the Chinese
block.
With the skill of Aiki, the practitioner must assimilate themselves, into
the opponent, and at the same time incorporate the opponent as one part of their being.
When you push
or pull the opponent, you have to touch the surface of the opponent, namely the
skin.
It seems that the movements are rubbing or scooping against the part of the opponent.
If the body is one of unity, the movement of pushing or pulling against the body will properly cause reactions. Decreasing these reactions may be a
caracteristic of Aiki; especially in the movement of up and down the important
thing is to understand and use gravity. It is very difficult to explain
about Aiki, but if we experience Aiki, the difference is very clear. The
important thing is to keep our body in a usual shape, and to remake our
body like a heavy rope by doing training. Besides, when we do training,
grab the floor by the feet and keep the axis of the body, and then perhaps
we will be able to create Aiki with our movements, we and the opponent
already will have been blending. This feeling is difficult to happen from
the competition style. Aiki is the skill of not crushing each other but
blending each other.
On the other hand, it seems to include phenomena of frozen skill too.
Aiki skill is not supernatural, it's only to sharpen our own usual power
and refine our sense by blending to the opponent. A big person should get
Aiki of a big person; a small person should get Aiki of a small person.
This Aiki ought to happen in other martial arts too; but it’s too small
to notice. I feel that Aiki is not just the monopoly of Aikido.
Japan Medical Kendo Federation
2015-4-11 The 50th time Kendo Meeting 
At the Kyoto Budo-Center
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