|
|
So, what does "ki" mean in "aikido," anyway? There's been a lot of
discussion and even some heated arguments over this Japanese term.
In essence, the character ki  means:
- spirit, mind, soul, heart
- intention
- bent, interest
- mood, feeling
- temper, disposition, nature
- care, attention
- air, atmosphere
- flavor
- odor
- energy, essence, air, indications
- symptoms
- taste
- touch, dash, shade, trace
- spark, flash
- suspicion
However, I think that there is some good in taking a look at how we,
the Japanese people, use the term in everyday life. I think that a
lot of people attribute a whole lot of esoteric meaning behind words
that aren't all that esoteric; this is the reason why I chose very
common Japanese words to illustrate how we use this term in our
everyday life. After all, isn't that what we hope to do in the first
place in aikido -- use "ai" and "ki" in our everyday lives?
Here are some contexts in which the word "ki" and some of its
derivations are used in everyday Japanese.
|
|
|
|
| Gen ki |
 |
"source/foundation of ki." |
one's health |
| Byou ki |
 |
"ill ki." |
to be sick |
| Ten ki |
 |
"heavenly ki." |
the weather |
| Ki ga tatsu |
 |
"the ki stands upright." |
to get angry |
| Ki wo tsukeru |
 |
"to put on (or to have) ki" |
to be careful; to be attentive |
| Ki ga kiku |
 |
"the ki is used a lot" |
to be empathetic |
| Ki ga susumanai |
 |
"the ki does not go forward." |
to not want to do something |
| Ki ga sumu |
 |
"the ki is finished or used up." |
to feel fulfilled |
| Ki ga tsuku |
 |
"to have "ki" put onto you." |
to notice |
| Ki ga tsuyoi |
 |
"the ki is strong." |
to be headstrong |
| Ki ga yowai |
 |
"the ki is weak." |
to be like a coward |
| Ki ga tooku naru |
 |
"the ki goes far away." |
to become lightheaded |
| Ki ga nai |
 |
"to have no ki" |
to have no interest in something |
| Ki ga nukeru |
 |
"the ki becomes missing." |
to lose hope |
| Ki ga mijikai |
 |
"the ki is short." |
to be short tempered |
| Ki ni sawaru |
 |
"something touches the ki." |
to find something irritating |
| Ki ni naru |
 |
"to become ki" |
to have something nagging or on one's mind |
| Ki wo kubaru |
 |
"to pass out ki (to people)" |
to attend to other people's wishes |
 |
|
|
