Kagan Arik began learning Ki-Aikido while attending the University of Pennsylvania almost by accident. There, he trained under Hal Abramson Sensei, from whom he learned fundamentals. When he moved to Seattle, Washington, Arik started training with Koichi Kashiwaya Sensei and was exposed to different approaches that opened him to the different possibilities of Ki-Aikido. Arik later relocated to Chicago and teaches at the University of Chicago Ki-Aikido Club. Today, Arik took some time to talk about Ki Society in America, some of the prolific teachers of the style, and how there are more similarities than differences. This interview is the second part of a two part interview. View the first part here.
MAYTT: You mentioned that it is all aikido; what aspects of Ki-Aikido would be considered similar to those other two styles of aikido that you trained before?
KA: All aikido styles share a common emphasis on not opposing force with force, but rather on utilizing the opponent’s energy to power techniques. This principle is central to the physical application of aikido techniques across different styles. Additionally, there is a core set of techniques in aikido derived from Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, although these techniques may have evolved differently within each style. One distinguishing feature of the Ki Society’s technical curriculum is the inclusion of taigi. Taigi consists of thirty sets of techniques performed on both the right and left sides, typically comprising six techniques in succession. Each taigi is essentially a series of techniques, where the practitioner’s focus is elongated to encompass the entire set. This format allows for a more comprehensive exploration of aikido principles within a single sequence.
When performing techniques naturally, without employing force against force, and by respecting gravity’s influence – the speed of which coincides with the human circulatory system – one gains a deeper understanding of aikido’s principles. In a gravitational environment of 9.8 Newtons, the time it takes for an object to fall from head level to the ground is approximately one second. This timeframe aligns with the duration of each component of a technique. By practicing at this natural speed, which mirrors a relaxed heartbeat, practitioners can effectively train in taigi. Taigi consists of sets of techniques performed seamlessly within a span of six techniques, each movement taking about one second to execute. Through taigi training, practitioners develop proficiency in individual techniques and learn how to connect them fluidly. Additionally, taigi training offers valuable aerobic and cardiovascular exercise. Moreover, practicing taigi instills a sense of natural rhythm in both tori and uke. This unique aspect of Ki Society’s curriculum enhances the technical and physical training experience.
Many dojos offer separate ki classes and aikido classes, a distinction unique to the Ki Society method. In ki classes, no aikido techniques are practiced; instead, students focus solely on ki training exercises. This separation allows for dedicated aikido classes where ki principles are integrated into technique practice. Another distinguishing feature of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido is the emphasis on mastering a select few techniques rather than learning a vast array of minutely different ones. This approach prioritizes deep understanding and adaptability over quantity. Additionally, Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido incorporates practices from outside Aikido, such as Shin Shin Toitsu Do (Japanese yoga) from Tempu Nakamura Sensei, and misogi training derived from the Ichikukai.
These supplementary practices, introduced by Tohei Sensei, the founder of the Ki Society, enrich the curriculum and provide additional avenues for physical and mental development. While some styles may incorporate similar practices, their inclusion in the Ki Society curriculum is more fundamental, standardized and consistent, reflecting the influence of Tohei Sensei’s training background.
Lastly, I would emphasize that while other aikido styles may share similar perspectives, in my training within the Ki Society, there has been a significant focus on the practical application of aikido principles in daily life. While aikido is undoubtedly a martial art usable for self-defense, its value extends beyond physical combat. The emphasis lies in how one applies aikido principles in everyday situations, where confrontations are rare. This perspective resonates with O Sensei’s teachings, emphasizing that the greatest victory lies in conquering oneself. As O Sensei’s maxim Masakatsu Agatsu Katsu Hayabi suggests, one’s greatest opponent is oneself. Reflecting on this, we realize that the person who can cause us the most harm – through sickness, accidents, or eventual demise – is none other than the person we face in the mirror each morning while brushing our teeth. It’s crucial to cultivate an understanding and harmony with oneself, a process facilitated by our ki training. Through this practice, we learn to befriend and collaborate with our inner selves, fostering personal growth and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
Of course, a karate person or someone from another martial could tell you exactly the same thing. All of these paths lead to self-understanding and self-discovery. But I think, in my experience, it’s been very explicit in Ki society’s training.
MAYTT: Chicago is a hotbed for different aikido styles. How has Ki-Aikido interacted with these other styles, organizations, and lineages of aikido? Has it been positive, negative, or indifferent?
KA: As far as I know, I’m relatively junior in terms of experience. I began training in Aikido in 1984 and in Ki-Aikido in 1985, with some exposure to Yoshinkan in 1984. However, in the Midwest area, particularly in Chicago, the most senior practitioner of Ki-Aikido is John Eley Sensei. He began his training with Tohei Sensei in the early 1960s when Tohei Sensei served as the chief instructor of the Aikikai. During Tohei Sensei’s visits to Chicago, Eley Sensei trained with him, leading to the establishment of the Illinois Aikido Club in Chicago. When Tohei Sensei later founded his own organization and departed from the Aikikai, Eley Sensei followed suit organizationally.
Toyoda Fumio Sensei came to Chicago to serve as the chief instructor of the United States for the Ki Society. Following Tohei Sensei’s departure from the Aikikai, Toyoda Sensei initially aligned with the Ki Society. However, he later parted ways and founded the Aikido Association of America. This organization eventually reestablished connections with the Aikikai. After Toyoda Sensei’s passing, the organization split into two branches. One branch was led by Toyoda Sensei’s son, while the other was led by (Mike) Meido Moore Sensei, a senior instructor under Toyoda Sensei.
I’m aware of Akira Tohei Sensei, who established his own Aikido association in Chicago with global connections. Additionally, there’s the Chicago Aikikai affiliated with Saotome Sensei, representing Aikido Schools of Ueshiba. These are the primary ones I’ve heard about, along with Toyoda Sensei’s organization and Eley Sensei, who currently leads the Chicago Ki Society.
My group is now associated with the Midland Ki Federation, under the guidance of Kashiwaya Sensei. Despite being located in Chicago, I am not formally affiliated with the Chicago Ki Society. They graciously permitted me to establish my own Dojo here out of respect for my teacher, Kashiwaya Sensei. It would have been inappropriate for me to disconnect from him and join a different lineage of Ki-Aikido. Nonetheless, we occasionally train together, and I’ve dropped in on the Chicago Aikikai (Aikido Schools of Ueshiba) Dojo. The University of Chicago Aikikai dojo where I trained in my early days in Chicago was also affiliated with them.
That was an interesting experiment. Don Levine Sensei was the head instructor of the University of Chicago Aikido Club, initially founded by Eley Sensei long ago. However, Eley Sensei later relocated to the north side of Chicago, which, as anyone familiar with the city knows, entails a lengthy journey due to heavy traffic congestion. After a hiatus when the campus club was not active, Levine Sensei assumed leadership of the University of Chicago Aikido Club. He had received training from various senseis in California before affiliating with Saotome Sensei. In his dojo, he envisioned inclusivity – he called it “aikido without borders” – aiming to incorporate all styles of aikido without discrimination. When I joined, there was an assistant instructor from the USAF background, trained by Yamada Sensei, another from Serbia who had trained under Hiroshi Tada Sensei, and a Yoshinkan practitioner from Canada.
When I discreetly joined that club, wearing a white belt, they didn’t say much, but on my first night Levine Sensei observed me practicing and approached me, saying, “Come here. You don’t really have a white belt.” I explained I came from a different style, but he insisted it didn’t matter and asked about my rank. I mentioned I was nidan. Without hesitation, he said, “Okay, next time you come to class, wear your black belt.” So I followed his instructions. A few months later, he suggested I take an evening to teach. We expanded our class schedule from three to five sessions per week, and I began teaching one of them. His philosophy was that aikido was aikido, regardless of style, and everyone should train together and learn from each other without fussing over differences. I found this approach highly productive. It reflected Levine Sensei’s noble understanding of the art, aligned with O-Sensei’s vision of using aikido to unite humanity. Unfortunately, Levine Sensei passed away, and his dojo gradually disbanded.
In the meantime, we have the Ki-Aikido club, which is interesting because it was originally founded by Eley Sensei before Ki Society existed, before he transitioned to Ki-Aikido. So there’s a sense of continuity, despite a period where it was not specifically affiliated with any particular style but remained open. My experience has been overwhelmingly positive, and in my dojo, I welcome people from any style as long as they are open to training in our curriculum, which is that of the Shin Shin Toitsu Aikidokai, a.k.a. Ki Society, founded by Koichi Tohei Sensei, as transmitted to us by Kashiwaya Sensei.
MAYTT: I am glad that you have had such a positive experience with other aikido styles. You bring up Eley. What would you consider to be his contributions to Ki-Aikido in Chicago?
KA: Yeah, I got to know Eley Sensei over the years, and he really remembers Tohei Sensei’s teachings very well; he brings them up constantly and applies them consistently. He truly carries the torch for Tohei Sensei’s legacy in this area, contributing to the history of aikido here. Well, he was either the founder or one of the founders of the Illinois Aikido Club, which marked the beginning of aikido in Chicago and likely one of the first aikido clubs in the Midwest. He also started many dojos in various locations in the city, exposing hundreds, if not thousands, of people to aikido. He’s well-respected for good reason – a senior, pioneer, and repository of Tohei Sensei’s original teachings. Additionally, since he trained with Tohei Sensei before the formation of Ki Society, he has a broad perspective on aikido.
MAYTT: Who would you consider to be a leader of Ki-Aikido here in the United States, past or present?
KA: Among the notable figures I’ve met personally, besides my own teachers like Abramson Sensei and, of course, Kashiwaya Sensei, who is paramount to me, are David Shaner Sensei from the East Coast Ki Federation, Clarence Chinn Sensei from Southern California, Pietro Maida Sensei from Northern California. There’s been Terry Pierce Sensei on the East Coast, Kirk Fowler Sensei in Arizona.Then there’s Hawaii Ki Society with Suzuki Sensei and later Curtis Sensei. Additionally, there are senior Tabata Sensei in Hawaii and Calvin Tabata Sensei in Oregon, representing the Northwest Ki Federation.
I also can’t forget Takashi Nonaka Sensei in Hawaii. So, to recap, we have Shaner Sensei, Fowler Sensei, Pierce Sensei, Chinn Sensei, Maida Sensei, the late Curtis, Suzuki, Nonaka and senior Tabata Senseis, among others, and I am probably forgetting lots of people. These are individuals at the seventh and eighth dan levels. Of course, in later generations, we have numerous practitioners in the fifth and sixth dan range.
MAYTT: To lead off of that, is there anyone in Ki Society that would be considered “up-and-coming” that would be the future leadership?
KA: That’s a good question, and I don’t have a definitive answer. The chief instructors I mentioned earlier continue to provide leadership in their respective regions. Kashiwaya Sensei had a significant reach as the chief instructor of Midland Ki Federation, covering the central US, Australia, Brazil, and other places. However, he retired this year, so currently, Midland Ki Federation doesn’t have a dedicated USA-based chief instructor. Instead, we receive supervision directly from headquarters in Japan, with Kobori Sensei recently assigned to oversee us technically. We’ve had one Zoom class with him so far, and another is scheduled for next month. It’s uncertain whether one person will assume an overarching leadership role, especially given Kashiwaya Sensei’s recent retirement. Towards the end of his tenure, Kashiwaya Sensei had changed his title from Chief Instructor of the USA to Special Adviser to Headquarters for the USA, in perhaps what could be seen as a decentralizing move.
MAYTT: We talked a little bit about Tohei’s split in 1974. How much discussion, on average, in the Ki Society about Morihei Ueshiba and Tohei’s time in the Aikikai?
KA: I can only answer based on what I’ve heard and seen myself. Ueshiba Sensei is widely regarded as the founder of aikido, and it’s acknowledged that Tohei Sensei was his student. However, it’s also known that Tohei Sensei studied other disciplines besides aikido. Within Ki Society, Tohei Sensei is credited with developing a methodology based on his learnings and observations from Ueshiba Sensei’s practice. He is the Founder of Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, currently led by his son Shinichi Tohei Sensei, Kaicho.
You hear so many stories from various people, each with their own flavor. One story that sticks with me is that O-Sensei supposedly asked Tohei Sensei, as he neared the end of his life, to take care of aikido and ensure its spread worldwide. Another request was to look after his family and the succession of aikido. By founding his own organization, Tohei Sensei likely achieved both goals, allowing the Ueshiba family to lead the Aikikai while enabling the creation of a methodology of transmission that could be more easily adapted to other cultures.
One story I heard is that when Tohei Sensei came to America, he was surprised by the barrage of questions. This was something he wasn’t accustomed to in Japan, where observation was more common than asking questions. It is said that in Japan, you observe and then try to replicate what you’ve seen. If you make a mistake, someone will correct you, but if you do it correctly, there may be no comment at all. However, in America, he had to respond to the questions he received. During this time, he developed methods to convey the essence of Ueshiba Sensei’s teachings to those who were unfamiliar with Japanese culture, and the Shinto practices that inspired O Sensei. While the practice retains its Japanese elements, such as wearing dogi, counting techniques in Japanese, and observing Japanese etiquette, there are also ways to discuss Aikido concepts in various languages like English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and more. Additionally, in some Ki Society dojos, you may find both Tohei Sensei’s and Ueshiba Sensei’s pictures displayed, as Ueshiba Sensei is respected without question.
In Ki Society dojos, people don’t bow to a calligraphy that says aikido or to a photo of Ueshiba Sensei. Instead, they bow to the shomen, where there is usually a Ki sign. Official dojos may have Tohei Sensei’s picture displayed up front, and it’s up to individual instructors whether they want to add other pictures elsewhere in the dojo. For instance, I know one dojo where there’s a photo of Tohei Sensei alone and another of him with Ueshiba Sensei on the wall.
MAYTT: Final question; in the next ten to fifteen years, how do you think Ki-Aikido will change, evolve, and grow here in the United States?
KA: Oh, that’s a good question. I could probably talk more about how I’d like it to grow, but I’m not sure how accurate my predictions will be. However, there might be an interaction between what I think might happen and what I hope might happen. When I started aikido in the mid-1980s, there was a Hollywood star who made aikido a household word. Before that, there was Bruce Lee with Chinese Kung Fu, and a few other action stars. Then Steven Seagal, actor and aikido sensei, came along and many people joined aikido, perhaps because they wanted to be like him. I know such people from back then, so there was a kind of aikido fashion or trend, and it was very much in vogue. Over time, I think that wave sort of crested. Right now, aikido doesn’t seem quite as fashionable. There’s a lot of stuff said about Aikido online and on YouTube. Various people comment about aikido, some not very nicely, but others do show more appreciation.
I’m observing the demographic shift among my peers. Many of those I started with are now in their fifties and sixties, as I am. I’m uncertain about the extent of the younger generations’ interest in aikido, particularly millennials and Gen Z. However, I’ve noticed a significant interest in MMA and kickboxing among them, alongside a parallel interest in yoga. While there are different types of yoga, including the original forms from India and others, the interest is notable. Teaching undergraduates, many of whom are Gen Z and some millennials, I see their strong interest in environmental issues, peace, conflict resolution, and mental health. Many young people today grapple with mood disorders like depression and anxiety, as well as attention deficit and learning disorders. In this context, aikido, especially Ki-Aikido and Ki Training, could be beneficial. It offers tools to manage anxiety, depression, and hyperactivity while promoting a philosophical approach that emphasizes recycling negative energy into positive outcomes for all involved. If we can effectively communicate these principles, I believe there will naturally be growing interest in aikido.
At our university, we participate in recruitment fairs where various clubs set up booths to engage with students. When students approach us to ask about aikido, they often make up their minds on the spot based on first impression. Some are initially deterred by the notion of dynamic physicality and quickly move on to join other groups like yoga. All they know of martial arts is what they see in films. Others who express interest in learning how to brawl may find us too peaceful and opt to join boxing clubs instead. However, if they take a moment to really engage with us, they might discover that aikido offers both. It teaches how to prevail by learning how to not struggle, through a mind-body discipline that proves beneficial in daily life. This discipline aids in managing health, energy, time, interactions with others, authority, peers, oneself, and the environment.
If this idea can be widely promoted, I believe the future holds promise. Celebrities often play a significant role in influencing societal trends, and their actions tend to trickle down to the masses. Perhaps another action figure, embodying ki and aikido principles rather than automatically resorting to violence, could emerge. As societal ideals evolve, there may be greater appreciation for an art like aikido, particularly Ki-Aikido, with its emphasis on daily life applications beyond physical techniques. Many of my college students have shared how aikido has helped them cope with various challenges, from studying for exams to managing difficult relationships. It’s about embodying a particular way of being that transforms how one interacts with the world. While this knowledge has existed for ages, its widespread acceptance may grow as humanity evolves.
MAYTT: Absolutely, Sensei!
KA: I mean it originates in the art of death, and turns it into an art of life. That’s pretty cool.
MAYTT: Thank you for joining us today!
KA: It was a pleasure!
This interview is the second part of a two part interview. View the first part here.
To learn more about aikido and its history in America, click here.
Martial Arts of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 