About Ki

合氣道光氣会 Aikido Kokikai Japan News 

2020-9-12 

Shudō Maruyama, Founder and President 

About Ki (氣) 

How we use the word ki in Kokikai Aikido 

In the Japanese language, there are hundreds of expressions that use the word ki: in medicine, physics, astronomy, meteorology, martial arts, and even daily life. But in Kokikai Aikido, in order to become strong, studying the word ki has absolutely no meaning. For example, in the Olympics, people from countries where the word ki isn’t used win many more medals than people from Japan, where the word ki is used often.

In the world of martial arts, making an abstract concept like ki into a mantra is not useful. There are people who say that ki is the energy of the universe. That’s fine to say. But when someone attacks you with a knife on the side of the road, when someone is about to stab you, there’s no time to summon universal energy to enter your body, grow strong, and with that ki power fight off the attacker. In an instant, you’ll end up getting stabbed. The word ki is simply a convenient metaphor. As for the use of strength, we don’t know how much of being imbued with ki power is physical strength and how much is mental strength. But, when ki is used, something is added to physical strength. In Japan, we understand this intuitively. We say things like “ki power wins.” 

Kokikai Aikido is a martial art of self-defense. So, when we use the word ki, it’s no good as an abstract concept. It must apply concretely to using our power. If it doesn’t, then in a fight, something nebulous like the word ki becomes just an idle thought. In Kokikai, when we say ki or ki power, we are referring to the power and abilities that are accessed when we move people correctly, following Kokikai principles. Focus your mind on one point, use your mind positively, and at the same time let go of your muscle power, and this becomes the power of ki. Even if you use your mind positively, if you exert physical strength, that is not ki power. The more you use muscle, the weaker your ki power gets. This is truly a subtle concept because human beings are delicate. When we do technique, we understand this better. If you receive uke’s attack with ki power, only a tiny bit of uke’s strength affects you. When you resist it, you feel all of uke’s raw power coming right at you. 

This cannot be understood with words. It can be understood well when you experience it yourself, actually practice it with Kokikai Aikido, and watch Sensei. The more correct you can make your mind and body based on these principles, the stronger you can extend ki. By understanding Kokikai principles well and continuing to train according to them, your ki power will continue to grow over your lifetime. 

There are expressions that have similar meanings to ki power, including mind-body coordination, mind-body oneness, latent abilities, and hidden strength (also known as the firefighter’s courage), but these words cannot be shown concretely. In Kokikai Aikido, each of us must practice, research, and make our ki power more and more concrete with our own bodies. 

(translated by Barbara Litt, with assistance from Dave Nachman and Steve Syrek)