For thousands of years Ki has been a fundamental reality to Budo and to whole civilisations. Even today the very idea of Ki is a powerful metaphor that can transform practice.

 

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Definition

 

Ki is imagined as an animating life force that permeates everything. In the body it flows through channels known as meridians. Tsubos are located on these meridians.

 

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Relax

 

From a practical perspective relaxing has a direct effect on how you perform a technique. A beginners Karate punch is a very tense and slow affair and does little more than channel aggression. A relaxed punch is quicker, more efficient, more powerful.

 

For the development of Ki relaxation is vital. Once you have learnt to relax you are in a position to develop a feeling for Ki and then extend it into your movements.

 

The neck, temples, and shoulders can be particularly stubborn. If you find that you are very tense, the Yoga technique of visualising parts of your body and directing them to relax, can be useful. For particularly difficult muscles tensing them briefly before the order to relax can make all the difference.

 

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Ki and Aikido

 

It is not necessary to believe in Ki as some kind of mystical force. It is enough to focus on it simply as an idea for it to transform the way you hold and move yourself. In the body of an Aikidoka, Ki manifests itself as a relaxed power free of unnecessary tension.

 

How you imagine Ki is a personal matter, but visualising it as a fluid coursing out from your centre through your limbs "info infinity and beyond" can be particularly constructive. When you imagine flow, you activate all the muscles we are interested in. The idea of the flow of Ki between yourself and your aggressors can also be helpful. See the text on harmony.

 

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Breathing

 

Breathing and Ki are bound together. When you focus on your breathing it is also a good time to remember Ki and your centre.

 

Breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. On the in-breath your abdomen should expand rather than your chest. On the out-breath your abdomen deflates. Try to resist the temptation to use your stomach muscles as this adds unnecessary tension. Sitting quietly once a day and breathing like this for a short while can have a considerable effect on your well-being.

 

During practice as you project outwards you generally exhale. A Kiai is a development of this exhalation where you shout from your centre, focusing everything, the movement, the breath, into an instant.

 

In some schools of Japanese calligraphy they take three breaths to find their centre before putting brush to paper. Although this is worthwhile practice an Aikidoka should be able to centre instantly.

 

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Centre

 

Hara and Chushin refer to your centre. Within that centre is the Danten, which some styles call “one point”. This point corresponds to your centre of gravity, two inches below your navel.

 

Ki can be envisioned as springing from this point, charging out through your frame into infinity. It is also sometimes useful to imagine your centre as a sphere expanding in all directions from your Danten, behind and below you as well as in front and above.

 

As your centre should be involved in just about all your movements in Aikido it is often useful to listen to your centre. For instance, should you run into difficulty with a technique your centre can tell you where you are going wrong or offer alternative directions.

 

Zanshin is generally used to describe a calm and centred state of focus at the end of a technique. However, this is just the beginning. Ideally you want to extend this frame of mind to the whole time you are on the mat, Ukemi included. And then perhaps into everyday life.