Nathan Gusdorf

I have practiced Seidokan for about 2 years now. We do some ki work, though I'm not sure exactly how much incomparison to other schools. I'm not aware of its disadvantages as I have not had experience in other styles but I think it does have some specific advantages. Often times my instructor will show how he was originally taught a technique and how it was modified for seidokan. Kotegaeshi for instance, instead of turning the hand over the wrist it is turned straight back towards the wrist. This has a couple advantages- one, it does a better job of protecting your attacker (a big focus in seidokan) and two, it is actually more effective because you cant get out of it. If they twist your hand over your arm then you can twist in and drop down on their neck and reverse it. Obviously done at high speed it would be pretty damn hard to reverse but my sensei was originally taught those things. Then they were changed for Seidokan. If your hand is turned straight back you can't move in. As Wayne said seidokan means 'earnest' and 'sincere' so it is all very practical. This is the attitude toward ki development. There is notreally any mysticism involved, it is basically 'this is how your body works and if thinking of it in terms of ki helps you do it then think of it in terms of ki'. As in all aikido it is hard to learn the techniques well and it takes much time, but the focus on protecting your attacker typically results in fewer injuries. Another advantage of seidokan is that it is designed to train instructors. Not to pass judgement on other styles, but the lower ranking balck belts I have seen teaching in other styles I did not think the teachign was quite as good as my dojo. This could of course be simply a function of the students themselves, but I know for certain that there is an emphasis placed on teaching in seidokan. Obivously its important to check out the dojos, but thats what I can tell you for what it's worth.