Having experienced this enlightened vision, O-sensei resolved to develop a discipline that in essence joined the principles of harmony, love, and peace with the application of Budo. The violent, deadly, and crippling techniques he had learned were thus transformed into more humane movements in which the nage could exercise the sword to let live (Katsujin Ken) and show true compassion for the attacker. In the 1920’s and 1930’s, he referred to the new art as Aikibudo. In 1942, while Japan was engaged in a violent world conflict, O-sensei elected to have the official name of the art changed to Aikido, the way of harmony with nature. The dropping of the "bu" at that time may be interpreted as a further distancing of the new art from the violence associated with traditional martial arts.
Although O-sensei began his quest toward
the perfection of Aikido in the 1920’s, he admitted that the art was constantly
developing and changing. In a 1950’s newsletter, he was quoted as telling
his students that he had created over 3,000 arts, but these were but empty
shells. He encouraged his students to continue to develop themselves in
the spirit of constant progress. His simple guidelines for Aikido training
were to train the mind, body, and ki that unifies them to harmonize with
the activities of the universe. These three aspects of training were to
be combined rather than focused on separately.
Certainly by the 1960’s, O-sensei was
no longer very involved in the instruction of students directly. Rather,
it was his senior students who took on the responsibility of spreading
Aikido. From this time until the end of his life, O-sensei continued to
refine his art and rigorously pursue the life of a spiritually enlightened
individual. Thus, he taught through the example he lived. One of
the most outstanding of O-sensei’s students was Koichi Tohei Sensei. Tohei
Sensei was entrusted with spreading Aikido to America through several trips
in the 1950’s and 1960’s, first to Hawaii and then to the mainland. He
also became the chief instructor at the headquarters dojo. What distinguished
Tohei Sensei most, however, was his approach to teaching Aikido. He saw
that the physical arts performed by O-sensei were merely the expression
of the deeper universal principles. Without an understanding of the principles,
the arts were meaningless. Thus, he began teaching not just the form of
the art, but also the principles behind the arts. Perhaps his most famous
contribution was the development of the four principles to coordinate mind
and body which he summarized as: 1) Keep one point, 2) Relax completely,
3) Extend ki, and 4) Keep weight underside. Tohei Sensei taught these principles
to thousands of students who appreciated their applicability to developing
a deeper understanding of the arts. Tohei Sensei also refined and systematized
the Aiki Taiso (Harmony exercises), emphasizing their role in developing
mind-body coordination.
After O-sensei’s death in 1969, differences in philosophy led to a splintering of Aikido into many different schools. Tohei Sensei formed the Ki Society and Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido (Aikido with mind and body coordinated) in an effort to pursue the teaching of principles. His school of Aikido continues in Japan and across the world under his tutelage. It is out of this training tradition that Seidokan Aikido grew. The founder of Seidokan Aikido, Rod Kobayashi Sensei, was for a time the Chief Instructor of the Western United States for Ki Society and Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. Kobayashi Sensei’s unique cross-cultural experiences and devotion to unifying the principles, arts, and training methods of Aikido within the spirit of constant progress served as the foundation for the establishment of Seidokan Aikido. Although an American, born in Hawaii, Rod Kobayashi spent his youth in wartime Japan under the guidance of his grandfather, a Buddhist priest. He returned to America as a teenager, completing his education and then serving in the armed forces. His interest in Aikido was first fostered by his father, who was instrumental in bringing Tohei Sensei to America in 1953. In 1957, Kobayashi Sensei began training in Aikido, studying under several skilled instructors. He was especially impressed with Tohei Sensei and trained whenever possible under him.
The year 1968 was a pivotal one for Kobayashi Sensei. First, he made the important decision to turn professional and devote his life and career to Aikido. He spent much of that year training in Japan, and as a Yondan was one of two American born individuals certified to teach at the Japanese Headquarters Dojo. During that year he witnessed firsthand the art of O-sensei. When O-sensei bowed low to him and thanked him for spreading Aikido in America, he realized the path of humbleness that the master truly embraced. Interestingly, the foundation for many of the changes in the Aikido arts that he would later develop occurred because of an injury he experienced during training that year. He found that with his injured shoulder, he could not raise his arm very high during practice. Rather than hinder his practice of arts such as kokyunage, he found that the techniques tended to work better when he used a smaller circle. This experience served the germ for developing the present day kokyunage and enkei nage found in Seidokan Aikido. These arts exemplify how Aikido can be used to calm the situation down through use of minimal force. Their virtues include reduced likelihood of injury to the attacker, greater efficiency so that little physical strength is required, and greater speed of execution so that they may be applied in realistic attack situations.
In 1970, Kobayashi Sensei established the
Aikido Institute of America, partly as a response to the position aired
by some Aikido instructors that no one could become an instructor without
training in Japan. He felt that if Aikido was to grow in America, then
instructors would have to be trained in America. Indeed, through the Aikido
Institute of America, he began to implement his philosophy that even the
beginner should be trained to share with others, to be an instructor in
a sense. The kyu and dan exams in Seidokan Aikido reflect this philosophy.
Rather than simply have the Aikidoka run through several prescribed arts,
there are phases in the tests in which one must demonstrate an understanding
of the philosophy underlying the art and how the principles are manifest
in the arts and in daily life. This practice is in accordance with balanced
training of mind, body, and ki described by O-Sensei.
In 1974, Kobayashi Sensei was promoted
to Rokudan, his certificate including the rare combined signatures of Doshu
Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Koichi Tohei Sensei. When Tohei Sensei established
Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido in 1975, Kobayashi Sensei followed his teacher,
as he felt it key that his Aikido training should remain focused on the
principles. Over the next six years, he continued his exploration of how
the principles could be manifest in the arts of Aikido and how best to
train new Aikidoka. He scoured ancient texts of Budo to find principles
that could be related to Aikido training and arts. These included principles
familiar to those in Seidokan, such as Dochu no Sei (calmness in action),
Go Go no Shugyo (training after understanding), Shoshin ni Kaeru (Return
to the fundamentals), and Shodo-o-Seisu (control the first move). He also
carefully examined the teachings of O-sensei, especially the Doka (poems
of the way). He felt that several of these held extremely important lessons
for balanced training of mind and body.
By 1981, he decided that the best path for his pursuit of the deep principles of Aikido was the establishment of Seidokan Aikido. He chose the character Sei (also pronounced Makoto) as the foundation of his new school because of its very deep meaning. O-sensei had described his Makoto-oba doka as containing the secret to all budo. The character Sei or Makoto is made up from the combination of two kanji, one meaning to speak and the other meaning to come true. Thus, sei means to put the principles into action, to be sincere, earnest, and realistic. At the heart of Seidokan Aikido is the idea that students and instructors alike train to understand the principles of Aikido and manifest them in their daily life. In Seidokan Aikido, everyone is encouraged to share with others and seek new ways to make the principles of Aikido a part of their lives. The balanced training of mind, body and ki is manifest in well rounded training practices. These include studying 1) what the foundational principles of Aikido are, 2) how the principles are manifest in the arts of Aikido, and 3) how the principles are manifest in our everyday lives. As part of our balanced training, we emphasize the Aiki Taiso, as refined by Kobayashi Sensei, and their relationship to principles and arts. We develop our center through meditation and breathing exercises and help others through the aiki ryoho (or Aiki therapy). Our training is tempered by the idea that the art must be at the same time realistic and true to the principle of harmony.
Seidokan Aikido owes a great debt of gratitude
to its founder, Rod Kobayashi Sensei, as well as his teacher, Koichi Tohei
Sensei, and the founder of Aikido, O-sensei. Those of us who make up the
Seidokan family must continue along the path these teachers have shown
us. In his booklet, Poems of Morihei Ueshiba, Kobayashi Sensei points out
a poem of O-sensei’s telling the student to firmly follow one path. It
translates, "What good is it to study all kinds of sword arts? Make a firm
decision to follow only one path." Kobayashi Sensei points out the path
that we as Seidokan students are following extends back to O-sensei through
Tohei Sensei (illustrated above). It is up to each of us to continue to
seek the fundamental truth of the universe and continue the path toward
world peace that O-sensei started.
