A Brief History of Aiki in Japanese Martial Arts

Author: Bret Gordon

My last several articles have been dedicated to defining aiki as we use it in American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu. However, aiki is not a concept unique to the myriad of systems that ultimately stem from Daito Ryu. While Takeda Sokaku (the founder or rejuvenator of Daito Ryu, depending what you believe) may have been the first to attribute this concept to a physical, conditioned state of being, the origins of aiki go back much farther and I'd like to briefly dive into that history. 

We first see written accounts of aiki, often written 相氣, as early as the late 1600s, and was used to describe the moment in time when two swordsmen would find themselves with the mutual intention of attacking at the identical time and space. It was taught as something to be avoided, as this could only result in mutual death if they proceeded with their attack. 

Fast forward to the late 1890s, and the book Budo Hiketsu: Aiki No Jutsu was published by Kondo Yoshizu, where aiki was described as the highest level of mastery in Japanese martial arts. It's unclear when and where the shift in perspective happened, with aiki once being something to avoid and now defined as the pinnacle of Budo, but this interpretation would significantly influence the development of the aiki arts. 

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Budo Hiketsu: Aiki No Jutsu

In Budo Hiketsu, aiki is described as a technique of energy projection. This isn't a reference to some mystical or esoteric energy, but rather a projection of your intention to shut down an opponent's threat. We have all experienced the vibe in the room shift when someone truly dangerous walks through the door, or when someone's demeanor makes you second guess your intention to escalate a dispute to physical violence. The fight is over before it begins. Takeda Sokaku himself described aiki as "the secret of aiki is to overpower the opponent mentally at a glance and to win without fighting."

​In our system of American Yoshinkan, metsuke (eye contact) is extremely important to the effectiveness of a technique and is the first step towards the energy projection described in Budo Hiketsu. Throwing your opponent off their game before they take their first step is a form of a mental kuzushi and once their intention is disrupted, the physical attack becomes easy to deal with. 

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Somewhere over time, Takeda Sokaku made aiki an integral part of the system, even changing its name from Daito Ryu Jujutsu to Daito Ryu Aiki Jujutsu (which is a story for another day). The development of Daito Ryu into the codified system it has become spanned the entire course of Takeda's teaching career, with earliest scrolls and notes making no mention of the principle other than to say "apply aiki" before a specific technique, to now entire branches of the art focusing solely on the cultivation of internal power in lieu of more "practical" fighting techniques. 

Which brings us back to how we define it in American Yoshinkan. We can't say "aiki is this singular thing" because aiki for us actually describes multiple things. It is the pre-conditioned, connected and integrated body designed to express internal power. It is the moment in time when two opposing forces harmonize into a single intention. It is the energy you project when you walk in a room. Aiki is all of these things and more. The only way to truly understand it is shugyo. The secrets guard themselves, even more true when the real secret is simply hard work...

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