Koichi Tohei

Koichi Tohei (藤平光一,) is a 10th Dan aikidoka and founder of the Ki Society and its style of aikido, officially Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido (literally "aikido with mind and body unified"), but commonly known as Ki-Aikido.
Koichi Tohei was born 1920 in Shitaya ward (下谷区), presently Taitō, in Tokyo. As a boy he was sickly and frail, leading his father to recommend Tohei for judo studies. He trained hard and his body prospered, but soon after he began his pre-college studies at Keio University, he developed a case of pleurisy, an inflammation of the lining of the chest (lung) cavity which causes great pains in the chest area with breathing. This forced Tohei to take a year off.
Tohei was distressed at the thought of losing his newfound strength of body and his means of training it, so he decided to replace his judo studies with Zen meditation and misogi exercises. As with his judo studies, Tohei entered the training of the mind with fervor and soon excelled despite his serious health issues. After his recovery from pleurisy, of which the doctors could find no trace, Tohei became convinced that it was his efforts in training his mind and cultivating his ki that had helped him to heal and recover. This stimulated his later development of Kiatsu, a system of treating physical illness by pressing with the fingers and extending the ki into the ill persons body. Tohei describes this as "priming the pump" allowing the person to heal themselves.
After his fight with the pleurisy he returned to his judo studies, but they were not satisfactory for Tohei; he wanted more than just physical training and did not think that judo was the right art for him to practise, although he did continue with studying judo until he started with aikido.
In 1940, when he was 19 years of age, Tohei's judo instructor, Shohei Mori, recommended that Tohei meet with the founder of aikido Morihei Ueshiba. At this point Tohei was dissatisfied with judo and set off to see the master of this new martial art he had heard of.
According to Tohei himself, when he first met with an aikido instructor and practised some techniques at the Ueshiba dojo, he had doubts about aikido and its value to him. That changed however, when Ueshiba entered the Dojo and started to perform his techniques on the instructors. Tohei was still not entirely convinced until Ueshiba asked Tohei to step unto the mat and try to grab him. Tohei's attempts were unsuccessful, and after this personal demonstration by Ueshiba, Tohei asked to enroll on the spot. Tohei would also continue to train his mind as well as his body with meditation, misogi and aikido.
Tohei trained with Ueshiba for six months before being sent as a representative (dairi) to teach at the Shumei Okawa school and the military police academy. This was before Tohei was ranked as either dan or kyu. Ueshiba would present Tohei with the rank of 5th dan after Tohei had begun his military service.
Like so many other Japanese youths at the time, Tohei was drafted into the Imperial army in October 1942. He saw action in China and was stranded there at the end of the war until his repatriation in 1946. According to Chinese records, Tohei's tendency to treat captured Chinese soldiers well led to Chinese authorities avoiding his unit when they attacked. Tohei is said to have left China with more soldiers than he started with.
In 1953, Tohei was sent to Hawaii to introduce aikido there. From then on, Hawaii became a center for the diffusion of aikido in the United States and, later, of Tohei's particular style. In 1969, Tohei was asked by Ueshiba to accept the new rank of 10th dan, which Tohei accepted, after having previously refused the same offer. The top rank in aikido had been 8th dan, but the ranks were expanded by Ueshiba for practical as well as political reasons.

The events leading up to the split between the main Aikido-organization of Aikikai and Koichi Tohei were further fueled with the death of Morihei Ueshiba in 1969. His son Kisshomaru Ueshiba would inherit the title of Doshu. At the time of Ueshiba's death, Koichi Tohei was chief instructor of the Hombu Dojo, the headquarters of Aikikai, a title he would retain until his official split from Aikikai in 1974. One of the major causes of the conflict arose from Koichi Tohei's emphasis on his principle of ki in aikido. Tohei wanted aikido to focus on these principles, using practical exercises to both cultivate and test Ki in the daily aikido practice. He had already started teaching his new ideas during his own training sessions at Hombu dojo, but the majority of the other instructors would not. There were some who agreed with Tohei's approach, but Tohei's actions were not welcomed by Kisshomaru and most of the senior instructors. They strongly encouraged him not to teach his principles and techniques in the Hombo Dojo. Tohei replied that he had the right to teach it outside Hombu Dojo, which he did.
But the tensions still remained among the senior cadre of instructors, who still did not approve of Tohei's focus upon ki. These brewing tensions together with Tohei's general dissatisfaction with the situation culminated in 1971 when he created the Ki No Kenkyukai, with the purpose of promoting the development and cultivation of Ki inside aikido, but outside the Aikikai "umbrella". The years of conflict would finally cement Tohei's decision to break away from the Aikikai and teach his own 'ki' style of aikido. So, on the 1st of May 1974, Koichi Tohei officially left the Aikikai organisation to concentrate on his newly created Ki-aikido and Ki-society.
On the 15th of May, Tohei sent a letter in English and Japanese to the majority of the dojos both in Japan and abroad, explaining his reasons for the breakaway and his plans involving Ki-aikido and the Ki-society. This breakup came as a shock to many aikidoka throughout the dojos of the world. Tohei was well regarded by many instructors and students. He was seen as the foremost sensei of Aikido after Ueshiba's death. This, in turn, led to several dojos breaking with the Aikikai and joining Tohei in his new style. Tohei's new objective was to coordinate all the dojos who joined him and incorporate them into the organisation of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido: "Aikido with Mind and Body Coordinated". This branch of aikido is still active today even though Tohei himself retired from the day-to-day business of the Ki-aikido section, and now concentrates solely on the Ki-society and further personal development of ki.

Both before and during his position as head instructor at the Hombu Dojo, Tohei instructed many notable aikidoka. Several of these have since made lasting impacts on aikido in general. Among these are:

1. Koretoshi Maruyama, former Chief Instructor and President of Ki Society, who has since founded the independent Aikido Yuishinkai International style of aikido.
2. Shizuo Imaizumi (今泉鎮雄), 7th Dan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, who founded the independent Shin Budo Kai style of aikido.
3. Calvin Tabata, 8th Dan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido,and founder of the NW Ki Federation. He holds an Okuden Ki rank, is a full Lecturer in the Ki Society, and is the Chief Instructor of the Personal Kiatsu School. He began his training in Hawaii and is a lifelong direct student of Ki Society founder Koichi Tohei sensei. Tabata sensei has been teaching in the Northwest since 1970. He established the Oregon Ki Society in 1974 and the Personal Kiatsu School in 1993.
4. Koichi Kashiwaya, 8th Dan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, head Ki-Aikido instructor for the USA.
5. Ken Williams - Founder of the Ki-Aikido Federation of Great Britain.
6. Kenjiro Yoshigasaki, 8th dan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, who was a pioneer in spreading Ki-aikido in Europe and has since founded the independent Ki no Kenkyukai Association Internationale organisation.
7. Fumio Toyoda, 6th Dan, founder of the Aikido Association of America and Aikido Association International.
8. Shuji Maruyama founder of Kokikai Aikido.
9. Steven Seagal, 7th Dan, American action movie actor, producer, writer, director and a Blues singer-songwriter.
10. David E. Shaner, PhD, 7th Dan, Chief Instructor of the Eastern Ki Federation and chair of Furman University's philosophy department, where he specializes in Japanese philosophy.
11. Kenji Ota, featured in a series of Panther Productions Ki-Aikido instructional videos, along with being a champion ballroom dancer and father of 5th Dan, Steve Ota.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koichi_Tohei

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What is Shodo?
Special thanks to student Jenna Cullen for the content of this article.

Shodo, or the art of Japanese calligraphy, is an ancient art separate from any other creative work. It differs in that its main focuses are simplicity, beauty, and, most importantly, a mind-body connection. However, despite its differences from what most individuals would define as art, true calligraphy is achieved by applying the elements of art, specifically line, shape and space.

In producing any piece of Japanese calligraphy, mastering the element of Line is an absolute essential. The shape of the line assists in displaying the desired effect of the artwork. Often the line is drawn with a specific focus such as love, determination, or positivity. These feelings can often dictate the type of line that follows (e.g., whether it is wavy, straight, or curved. The tension of the line can also be created in this fashion.

In conjunction with Line, mastering Shape is also an important aspect in producing any Japanese symbol. Because calligraphy is achieved with dragging, pressing, and sweeping techniques, no outlining or drawing is ever used. In creating art other than symbols, especially in Chinese calligraphy, nature is a prominent theme. Organic shapes such as trees, leaves and flowers are common subjects for Chinese or Japanese artists. Because the culture behind calligraphy is continually focused on the beauty and wonder of nature, inorganic shapes such as geometric figures or human-made objects are seldom painted.

Furthermore, the element of Space is essential in creating a beautiful calligraphy piece. It is crucial that the artist remain aware of the placement of each line, especially in more complicated symbols. Often, the artist is required to visualize where each line will start, stop and meet before he even touches the brush to the paper. Without undivided attention to spacing, the finished symbol will fail to appear as desired, even with the most perfect lines and shapes. Presentation and careful placement is one of the aspects that help in giving Japanese calligraphy its distinct beauty.

In sum, Japanese calligraphy to the common eye may seem uncomplicated or even bland. However, the creation of such a simplistic piece involves the knowledge of several difficult skills, and the mastery of all the elements of art, specifically those described.

What is Zen Calligraphy?

Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945) believed that true creativity is not the product of consciousness but rather the "phenomenon of life itself." True creation, he stated, must arise from mu-shin, the state of "no mind", in which thought, emotions, and expectations do not matter. Truly skillful Zen calligraphy is not the product of intense "practice"; rather, it is best achieved as the product of the "no-mind" state, a high level of spirituality, and a heart free of disturbances.

To write Zen calligraphic characters that convey truly deep meaning, one must focus intensely and become one with the meaning of the characters they create. In order to do this, one must free his/her mind and heart of disturbances and focus only on the meaning of the character. Becoming one with what you create, essentially, is the philosophy behind Zen Calligraphy.

The information for this article comes from the book Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind With Calligraphy and Painting, by Tanchu Terayama, et al.

What are the Historical Origins of Shodo?

Shodo has origins in China, where over 3,000 years ago pictographs were carved into tortoise shells and cow bones as part of religious ceremonies. Overtime, people began carving these same pictographs on bronze and other metals. Altogether, the early forms of the characters used commonly in shodo lacked the evenness in size and shape that today's characters have. Still, they clearly serve as the pictorial origins of the shodo characters in common use today.

At the start of the thirteenth century BCE until the fourth century BCE, the wide variety of pictograms in use in China were consolidated into a form of character script called daiten (greater seal script). By the ruling era of the Ch'in Dynasty (221-206 BCE), government officials further standardized the character script; from that point on it became known as shoten (lesser seal script), which is still in common use today on seals for official documents. During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - CE 220), shoten was further developed into reisho (scribe's script), which was characterized by bold horizontal brushstrokes.

After the development of reisho came sosho (grass script), which preceded kaisho (standard script) and gyosho (running script), the character forms most commonly used today. Kaisho can be thought of as a "block" style of character writing, while gyosho can be thought of as a form of "cursive" or "script". Sosho, however, is written so simply and symbolically that eyes untrained in deciphering calligraphy can rarely read and understand it.

Because the letter set in use in shodo, a Japanese art, has its origins in China, it is referred to as kanji in Japanese, which literally means "Han letters" (for the Han Dynasty in China). The Japanese refined Chinese sosho characters by simplifying them further to create the hirigana character set. Today, written Japanese is primarily a mixture of kanji and hirigana.

The information for this article comes from the book Zen Brushwork: Focusing the Mind With Calligraphy and Painting, by Tanchu Terayama, et al.

http://www.zenshodo.com/history.htm