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The purpose of ki-aikido is not self-defence; that is a mere by product. It is far more important to learn to control the mind and body. It is too late to try to calm the mind after you take up the sword. First you must calm the mind and then take up the sword. When you raise the sword up overhead, do not cut your ki. Continue to calm the mind by half, half, half and create a living calmness in that infinite reduction. When practicing cutting with the sword, you will find infinitely more value in cutting just five to ten times with ki fully extended, than you would in cutting a thousand time with mere physical strength.
Koichi Tohei
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Things appear very complex but underneath they are quite simple. People complicate things by super-imposing their own viewpoints and advantages. If you remove all that is superfluous, most problems have very simple solutions.
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There is no conflict in the absolute universe, but there is conflict in the relative world. If we unify our mind and body become one with the universe, others will follow us gladly. Do not say that this is a world where we must struggle to live each day. The true way to success is exactly one and the same as the principle of non-dissension, and that is the way of peace.
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When learning something new, you must never be critical at the beginning. Always do your thinking after trial and error. Most people make up their mind one way or the other before they even get started. The most important step is to remove your coloured glasses and get a clear view.
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It is easier to coordinate mind and body when we are sitting or standing still than when we are in motion. But true unification means to maintain the coordination of mind and body even when we are moving.
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If you throw a stone into a lake, it makes waves on the surface. Eventually the waves disappear, but just because you can longer see them does not mean that they are really gone. They have just become too small for us to see them. In the same way, we calm our mind by half, half, half... and the waves of the mind become infinitely calm. They never actually stop.
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You must not think of what you learned as belonging to you. Your learning was only possible because of the people who taught you. If you forget this, before you know it you fall under the illusion that you are the only one who can do it, or the only one who understands. This is called being full of yourself. It is wrong to think, 'I am strong', because this strength is nothing but weakness turned inside out. You must think how to act within universal principles.
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Countless people have attempted to define the absolute power of the world of nature. Some praise it as God, some call it the Buddha, others call it truth. Still others convert nature into a philosophy by which they attempt to sound its deepest truth. Such attempts to define the power of nature are no more than striving to escape its effects.
All of the forces of science have been unable to conquer nature because it is too mystic, too vast, too mighty. It intensely pervades everything around us. Like the fish that, though in the water, is unaware of the water, we are so thoroughly engulfed in the blessings of nature that we tend to forget its very existence.
Koichi Tohei
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The ki of the universe has never for a moment stopped moving. We call this continuous growth and development. Do you think it strange that human beings seem to be the only one trying to stop the movement of ki?
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Let us have a universal spirit that loves and protects all creation and helps all things grow and develop. To unify mind and body and become one with the universe is the ultimate purpose of our study.
Four major principles to unify mind and body:
1. keep one-point
2. relax completely
3. keep weight underside and
4. extend ki.
Koichi Tohei
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The absolute universe is one. Then two opposing forces appeared, and the relative world was born. In the orient this dualism is called 'yin' and 'yang', in the west, 'plus' and 'minus'.
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When you teach people it is useless to try to change their character. Correct their bad habits first, then their true character can come through. Teachers must have a positive mind. If their attitude is negative, it infects their students. Students cannot learn from bad examples until they develop their own powers of judgement.
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Ki tests are not founded on the idea of testing for strength or weakness. The most important factor in ki testing is to accurately inform the person of the state of his or her mind. Thus, the person performing ki tests must truly understand and exhibit oneness of mind and body from the outset and then perform the tests correctly.
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The ki of the universe is absolute. There is no such thing as strong ki verses weak ki. Correctly speaking, ki is strong only because it is strongly extended, weak only when it is not extended strongly. There is no limit to how strong your ki can become if you train yourself to extend ki strongly.
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Until you can clearly make up your mind, you are better off not doing something. Make a habit of being decisive in your daily affairs. Some people can be heard to say, "what will I do if I get killed?!" If you die, there is nothing you can do. Whatever you have to do, do it now, while you are still living. You must practice to be able to return to essential principles at any moment.
Koichi Tohei
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Quote of the day
Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force.
Dorothy L. Sayers
Koichi Tohei
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Born:
January 20, 1920
Died:
May 19, 2011
(aged 91)
Bio:
Koichi Tohei was a 10th Dan aikidoka and founder of the Ki Society and its style of aikido, officially Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, but commonly known as Ki-Aikido.
Known for:
Kiatsu (1983)
Ki in Daily Life (1966)
Aikido with Ki (1984)
Le Livre du Ki
Most used words:
mind
universe
calm
body
people
principles
infinitely
water
power
subconscious
spirit
true
universal
nature
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