I study mainly two martial arts: Aikido and Aiki Jujutsu. In each of these, the meaning of “aiki” is different.

Aikido tends to refer to “aiki” as two separate words, seemingly based on the two kanji characters used to write it: “AI” meaning joining, unifying, harmonizing; and, “KI” meaning spirit, life energy, breath. (And of course, the “DO” meaning path or way. The meaning of aikido typically is referred to as the way of unifying with life energy.

When I first heard the term “aiki” used in a Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu class I was perplexed. The term was being applied in reference to a technique. The sensei seemed to think that by spreading one’s fingers out, one could begin the process of breaking out of a hand grab to one’s wrist. That simple technique started a research project into the meaning of “aiki” that will likely last many many years.

After long research, I received an email in early 2009 that seemed to finally promise a description to this elusive term. This was advertised as a lecture/seminar under the title “The Meanings Of Aiki” in Aikido and Judo by Professor Fumiaki Shishida. Professor Shishida is one of two Shihan and 8th Dan in the Japan Aikido Association and is considered an expert on Tomiki Aikido.

I attended his lecture and seminar. During the lecture part, his powerpoint presentation on aiki was an excellent introduction but the overall lecture failed to provide a description of aiki. I inquired about this during the question period, and Professor Shishida offered to demonstrate to me during the seminar since the concept of “aiki” is difficult to put into words. As his uke to demonstrate this, I was simply amazed at the ease in which he was able to throw me. He did visually explain what he did (with another uke), and I was able to duplicate it and gain a deeper appreciation of where to focus my research. Professor Shishida did state several times that the  real meaning of aiki is lost to history and even in his decades of research, he has not been able to achieve full understanding of its implications.

I seriously doubt that I will be able to surpass this university professor’s research, but I need to at least grasp a base understanding. I will publish a series of articles on my interpretation …