Ki Society in Japan

Hi,

I am looking for a school/dojo in Japan where I could practice aikido intensively for the next 2 years or so to become instructor. I am very interested by the Ki Society and their 2-year instructor program there. Is anybody familiar with this program or knows people who studied there? Do you know of any other dojos with uchi-deshi kind of programs that you would recommend?

Thanks for your help.

Nikko

How about Yoshinkan Honbu's 1 year instructor course? I have read a very interesting book about it (angry white pyjamas)...

Nicolas Leden (Nikko) wrote: Hi, I am looking for a school/dojo in Japan where I could practice aikido intensively for the next 2 years or so to become instructor. I am very interested by the Ki Society and their 2-year instructor program there. Is anybody familiar with this program or knows people who studied there? Do you know of any other dojos with uchi-deshi kind of programs that you would recommend? Thanks for your help. Nikko

(DISCLAIMER: this is a copy of a post that I made to another, similar, thread).

In and near Tokyo (off the top of my head) there are uchideshi programs at the Yoshinkan (actually the 1 year senshusei course), Kobayashi Dojo, Shindo Dojo, and Iwama.

I don't know much about the Shindo Dojo setup, but Iwama costs (IIRC) 75,000 yen/month, which gets you a place to sleep, bread and peanut butter. With Kobayashi Dojo the living accomodations are extremely bare-bone. Foreigners should probably do all right, but they tend to work the Japanese students as instructors pretty hard - so much so that they often don't get much time to train themselves. I don't know the pricing for the Yoshinkan course, but IIRC it runs about 6 hours a day, and you have to work in addition to that if you want to support yourself. Of course, the same would be true at Kobayashi Dojo or Iwama, and Tokyo is an expensive place to live. Depending on your nationality you may also run into visa problems, especially if you're not working full time (maybe because you're training all the time...).

OTOH, there are a great number of uchi-deshi programs in the US now, many with highly qualified instructors - in some cases just as qualified as you'd find teaching the uchi-deshi in Japan. Plus no visa problems and maybe cheaper living expenses/easier time finding work that fits your schedule. Of course, you miss out on a lot of the cultural experience, so I suppose you have to choose which situation suits you best.

Best,

Chris

To see a list of Ki Society dojos click here. You'll notice Ki No Kenkyukai at the top of the list with an email address. You can email them any questions you may have in English about their program.

They just put up their English site here. If you're in the USA and already studying in a Ki Society Dojo, you can contact your Chief Instructor for more information. If you're not in a Ki Society dojo, you can contact a near-by dojo listed here.

I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the program or any who has attended it.

Ted Ehara (tedehara) wrote: To see a list of Ki Society dojos click here. You'll notice Ki No Kenkyukai at the top of the list with an email address. You can email them any questions you may have in English about their program. They just put up their English site here. If you're in the USA and already studying in a Ki Society Dojo, you can contact your Chief Instructor for more information. If you're not in a Ki Society dojo, you can contact a near-by dojo listed here. I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the program or any who has attended it.

Ted - this is off topic so forgive me, but do you have any info on Tohei Sensei coming to Hawaii next yr ? I have e-mailed the dojo in Hawaii for info but as of yet have not received a response. Any info would be appreciated....

A few years ago, Koichi Tohei Sensei was suppose to give a seminar in the US. Instead, his son Shinichi Tohei Sensei gave the seminar with the help of other senior instructors.

My understanding of this is that Koichi Tohei is in failing health. I think he is still teaching in Japan, but hasn't travelled outside the country recently. His son has covered all the seminars that he used to do in the USA. Shinichi is also being referred to as Waka Sensei.

If there is a seminar in Hawaii, I doubt if Koichi Tohei Sensei will show up.

Ted Ehara (tedehara) wrote: I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the program or any who has attended it.

Will Reed Sensei attended the 2 year instructors school in the early 1980's and later became an instructor for the school.

I thing those attending there right now are mostly from Europe and inside Japan.

Craig

John Hogan (Hogan) wrote: Ted - this is off topic so forgive me, but do you have any info on Tohei Sensei coming to Hawaii next yr ? I have e-mailed the dojo in Hawaii for info but as of yet have not received a response. Any info would be appreciated....

There has been a lot of talk of him coming to Hawaii for the 50th anniversary of his first visit to Hawaii but I don't think anything is confirmed yet. His son is definitely coming.

Being about 82, making long plane flights is a serious matter. He had a persistent fever last year and at the last minute his doctor did not want him to travel. He wrote a long letter of apology to Curtis Sensei and sent along several extra senior people for the seminar. Still, there was certainly some egg on the face after all the advertising. He is supposed to be much better now.

They may not even advertise him coming like they did last year because it may be very well be a last minute decision for him to accompany his son depending on how well he is in 2003.

Personally, I would rather he play it safe and stick around for as many more years as possible wacking his son in to shape to be even better than he is.

Craig

I understand Tohei is in failing health, but I saw this announcement on the Ki Society link:

http://www.ki-society.or.jp/english/index.html

Click on report from Hawaii - this is an excerpt:

"Next year will be the 50th Anniversary of Aikido in Hawaii, and hence in the West. Back in 1953 the young Koichi Tohei Sensei first brought Aikido to the Hawaiian Islands. From here, this charismatic ambassador of Ki Principles spread his teachings throughout the world. From June 23 to June 29, 2003, Hawaii Ki Federation will host this 50 year Anniversary Celebration at the beautiful new Shunshinkan Dojo on the island of Maui. On this unique occasion Master Koichi Tohei himself will be present the celebration, and we will all have the change to once again see Shinichi Tohei Sensei conducting the seminar. Don�ft miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. We, in Hawaii, hope to see all members of Ki Society International here!"

Hope he does show up...

Thank you for your answers. I forgot to mention that I have been practicing aikido for 8 years (mainly in France).

Regarding the Yoshinkan one year program, it is not what I am looking for. It is mainly for police officers, and thus very efficiency-oriented. I am more into ki, coordination of mind and body and the philosophical foundation of aikido than its martial/technical applications. I regard Aikido as a way of living, not just technics.

I have emailed the Ki no Kenkyukai twice but they take 2 months to reply to each of my emails and I need to get access to information quickly about their instructor program. I would love to be put in contact with Will Reed Sensei but do not know how to get in touch with him. Any leads?

Although there are great dojos and certainly very good uchi-deshi programs in the US, I would prefer to study in Japan with a or several Japanese senseis. It has been a dream to go there since I was 16 years old and I have much to learn about aikido from Japanese.

Please do not hesitate to share any further information with me.

Thanks.

Nicolas.

Nicolas Leden (Nikko) wrote: Thank you for your answers. I forgot to mention that I have been practicing aikido for 8 years (mainly in France). ... I am more into ki, coordination of mind and body and the philosophical foundation of aikido than its martial/technical applications. I regard Aikido as a way of living, not just technics. .... Please do not hesitate to share any further information with me. Thanks. Nicolas.

Nicolas,

I hopefully successfully sent you Will's email address privately.

I would strongly suggest that you sign up and post this exact explanation on the Ki society Yahoo.com email list. There are a number of people in Japan on the list and some senior people in the US who would be willing to help.

go here to sign up...

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ki-info/

 Description  

This list is to dispense information, disseminate teachings and distribute invitations to seminars and other events, related to Ki Society (Ki No Kenkyukai), Ki training, Aikido, Kiatsu and the teachings of Koichi Tohei Sensei.

best wishes,

Craig

Thanks a lot Craig. I got Will Sensei's email and I am going to post a message on Ki Society Yahoo.com email list. I'll also post any updated info I get about the Tohei Aikido Academy.

Nikko