Influences in Aikido of the Tenshin-Shin’Yo and Kito Schools

In almost all Eastern disciplines derived from the warrior experience of past centuries, formal exercises known as Kata are present and serve multiple functions. A Kata is normally understood as a reference model, intended to remain as unchanged as possible over time, or subject to modification only by great experts in the discipline and only for carefully considered and well-justified reasons. In the case of Aikido, Kata have less relevance than in other disciplines, and this typically concerns only the armed part of the practice.

Usually, one encounters three different types of martial disciplines:

a. Disciplines whose practice is based exclusively on Kata:

for example Taiji Quan; the entire practice is Kata, since there is no creative exercise in which the practitioner can freely transfer what has been learned through the exercise of form. This is because the main aspect of the discipline is based on inner development rather than external facts, and Kata is particularly suited to entering into harmony with oneself and receiving the message of the discipline.

b. Disciplines with very numerous Kata, performed without the aid of a partner, while free practice is generally carried out in pairs or with several opponents:

for example Karate; numerous formal exercises are used to teach the practitioner movements that will then be transferred into paired practice as their corresponding “application”, that is, the repetition of the movements learned in the Kata.

c. Disciplines that integrate free practice, generally performed in pairs, with formal exercises, also performed in pairs:

for example Judo, Kenjutsu, Kendo; the number of Kata is limited, and their main purpose is not to teach movements to be repeated exactly as they are in free practice.

In such cases, Kata have always been conceived for the purpose of:

  • transmitting the principle of an action, or of several actions linked together, from the biomechanical, mechanical, physical, strategic and tactical points of view, as well as from the point of view of their proper execution;

  • allowing the analysis of mental states during the various phases of the action, with reference both to breathing and to the management and use of Ki;

  • preserving the origin of actions that were later transformed by the needs of practice;

  • transmitting the hidden aspects of the Discipline, which go beyond mere technical execution and draw on the primary philosophical roots underlying the physical Discipline.

In the formal execution of a Kata, the study of what is contained within it will enable the practitioner to extract its principles and deepen them, reproducing them through essential movements. The aspects understood from a merely technical point of view will therefore not be important in themselves, but rather as the expression of a principle: the Kata thus become, in our hands, a matrix. This would remove any doubt about which external gesture is the most correct in any given technique of any given Kata: the most correct gesture will always be the one that refers back to the principles that a given Form seeks to express, provided that it is correct, coherent and consistent with those principles.

In order to better understand the meaning of our martial practice, we shall briefly examine the studies of Jujutsu that influenced the work of Masters Morihei Ueshiba and Jigoro Kano, and what teachings these Schools entrusted to the Kata.

Master Ueshiba and Master Kano both studied in two famous Schools of Jujutsu: Tenshin-Shin’Yo Ryu and Kito Ryu.

Tenshin-Shin’Yo Ryu:

O Sensei enrolled in this School in 1868, at the age of fifteen, under the guidance of Master Tokusaburo Tobari; Master Kano enrolled in 1877 under the teachings of Master Hachinosuke Fukuda.

This School brought together the teachings of two other famous Schools of Jujutsu: Yoshin Ryu and Shin-no-Shindo Ryu. It was renowned for the depth to which it had developed the study of attacks to vital points (atemi waza), methods of immobilization (torae waza) and methods of strangulation (shime waza), and it considered the study of one’s inner energy and its use to be a priority in the study of techniques.

Master Kano would include, in particular, two Kata from Tenshin-Shin’Yo Ryu in his Judo-Kodokan method: the Katame-no-kata and the Kime-no-kata, which, not by chance, deal with methods of control and ways of striking.

Analyzing “Kime” requires clarification of the three terms Ki, Kiai, Kime.

[Ki]{.underline} is the inner energy whose management is the basis of martial arts practice when correctly understood.

[Kime]{.underline} is Ki directed toward action: the expression of inner energy in an action, concentrating all one’s energies in a movement “as if there were no tomorrow”, without thinking of anything, neither the past nor the future (Issha Zetsu Mei – all of life in a single blow). Kime could therefore be defined as “extreme decision”.

[Kiai]{.underline} is the outward expression of Ki in an action performed with Kime; it is a shout that arises from an abdominal contraction, from the seat of Ki, caused by the lowering of the diaphragm. Depending on the circumstances, this shout takes on a slightly different meaning: one therefore speaks of Kiai before, during or after an action. Kiai before an action may serve both to “charge” one’s own Ki and to “press” against the Ki of an opponent; during the action, that is, in conjunction with the gesture, it is probably more authentic and is the expression of Ki manifesting itself with Kime, discharged during the sudden action not dictated by the mind but by the body.

Kiai after the action is rarer, and in this case its clear function is to discharge the energy still present in the body after the execution of the action.

Kito Ryu:

Ueshiba enrolled in this School at the age of nineteen under the guidance of Master Tokusaburo Tozawa, while Master Kano entered the School in 1881 under the guidance of Master Tsunetoshi Iikubo.

This School had a veiled military imprint, whereas Tenshin-Shin’Yo was distinctly civilian; Iikubo himself belonged to the samurai class. Unlike the previous School, this one had its strength in throwing techniques.

Kito Ryu claimed ancient origins and esoteric elements in its teaching. Some documents link this School to the teachings brought to Japan by a Chinese dignitary named Chen Yuan Pin in 1683 and further developed by three samurai in the monastery of Kokusei; other documents, including that of Sakuraba Takeshi, a student of Master Kano, trace Kito Ryu back to a certain Terada, a samurai in the service of a daimyo connected to the Tokugawa, who is said to have learned the teachings of Master Chen Yuan Pin, or Chging Gen Pin, from one of his direct students.

In any case, the Kito School (Ki/To evoke light/shadow, active/passive, in/yo, that is, two opposite polarities) had achieved remarkable fluidity in technical application, having deeply studied principles of action connected to the inner condition. Whatever the exact origin of the School may be, there is no doubt that it inherited the Chinese experience in the way of conceiving combat.

The vital energy that, in Tenshin-Shin’Yo Ryu, manifested itself in action after first having been learned and trained, in Kito Ryu was released in action and only afterward could become an object of study. If we reflect on the origins of these two Schools, one civilian in character and the other military, we understand the reasons: whereas a civilian first had to train the inner condition in order to be ready to face an action or aggression with the right technique without being overwhelmed by emotion, a soldier first had to act and then, from the experience of action, draw the inner teachings necessary to prepare himself and others for future actions.

The Kito School had assimilated, in the action of nage-waza, the principle of “ju”, that is, “yielding” understood as “adaptability”: the need to adapt to circumstances, such as an attack by an opponent, by making maximum use, to one’s own advantage, of the energy contained in the other’s attack. The ancient Chinese precept “Strength lies in yielding” was transmitted into Kito Ryu from the experience of combat.

The Kito method was based on the practice of “ran” – literally “freedom of action”, from which the Judo term “ran-dori” later derived, meaning free practice with grips – and on the theoretical framework of the Chinese doctrine of yin and yang (“in” and “yo” in Japanese), that is, the interaction in practice of two moments: an active one, the Yang element, and a passive one, the Yin element.

The very name of the School is in fact an expression of this ancient principle: “Ki”, meaning “to rise”, is connected to yang, which implies light; “To”, meaning “to fall”, corresponds to yin, the negative element implying shadow.

The Kata of Kito Ryu known as Kito-ryu-no-kata, in which the principles of the School were expressed and transmitted, greatly interested both Morihei Ueshiba, who studied it in depth with Master Tokusaburo Tozawa, and the young Kano, who learned it from Master Tsunetoshi Iikubo.

Ueshiba and Kano would later arrive at apparently opposite conclusions: Kano included in his Judo-Kodokan method the Kito ryu-no-kata, of which the Koshiki-no-kata is part, preserving it exactly as the tradition of the School transmitted it; Ueshiba, on the other hand, decided – uniquely in the panorama of the Martial Arts – to create a Method that transcends Kata.

Kito Ryu fundamentally teaches the same techniques and concepts found in Daito Ryu, but with a slightly different emphasis and terminology. Many techniques had in fact been designed for combat and use in armor; therefore, without the protection and encumbrance offered by such covering, a modification of the movements became necessary.

Kito can also mean rising and falling: rising, synonymous with yo (yang), and falling, seen as in (yin); this was the mixture of strength and flexibility. Kito Ryu placed the focus of its study on Ki, which Ueshiba, despite his young age, appreciated and understood, teaching that when the enemy shows strength you defeat him with elasticity, and when the enemy faces you with softness you defeat him with strength. One must never, however, rely solely on strength; rather, one must discard it in order to harmonize movement with the universal spirit (Ki). In this way, Ki allows one to overcome an enemy by turning his own strength against him.

Kito is, in many respects, the same as aiki: a perfect blend of harmony between the active and passive principles of the universe.

One of the fundamental principles of the old system of Kito Ryu is therefore at the very basis of Aikido practice.

The pedagogical sequence in the study of techniques

Through the practice called Go-no-Geiko – a practice in which Uke and Tori learn to manage the skeletal structure and, consequently, how their movements interact with and are discharged through it; Go also means “hard/earth”, and bones are the “solid” part of the human being – Tori and Uke become familiar with the correct gestures, movements and mental attitude to assume.

They must concentrate their attention on the correctness of their movements and position. Tori must always remain stable and strong, without losing at any phase of the movement the unbalancing and control exerted over Uke, while Uke must “feel” the movements of Tori, absorbing the technique in the best possible way, especially from a biomechanical point of view. The degree of attention between the practitioners must never decrease.

This type of practice will also allow them to concentrate on breathing and to master it, so that it can then be applied and refined in the phase of Ju-no-Geiko.

In the phase of study called Ju-no-Geiko – flexible, yielding practice, now fluidly discharged also through the “soft” part of the human being: muscles, ligaments, nerves, and so on – an additional element of difficulty is introduced, represented by an attack in motion, which necessarily leads to greater attention and a deeper study of reaction time and all the factors connected with it.

In this phase, the study of the breathing rhythm appropriate to the action will be important: exhaling during the offensive and defensive phase and inhaling during pauses, since one is vulnerable during the inhalation phase. Tori will adapt to the action, allowing Uke’s energy to manifest, channeling it and subsequently controlling it. Uke’s energy has a beginning, but its end is not perceived because Tori’s energy overlaps with it. Symbolically, the end of the energy of one phenomenon – for example daylight – is simultaneous with the beginning of another – the evening shadow – but the beginning of one merges with the end of the other.