This article serves as the final installment in our series exploring how ancient religious and philosophical traditions shaped the development of internal martial arts. Throughout this series, we have traced the flow of ideas from early Taoism, Buddhism, Yoga, and Shinto all the way into the internal mechanics of East Asian fighting systems. We have seen how concepts born in temples, monasteries, and esoteric ritual lineages gradually found expression in body skills such as energy cultivation and whole-body power.

The internal principles that define Aiki share unmistakable parallels with Taoist cosmology, Taiji philosophy, and Chinese internal martial arts. These ideas did not arrive through a single moment of cultural contact, but through centuries of cross-pollination between Taoism, Buddhism, and Shinto, culminating in the transmission of internal methods into the Aizu court and, eventually, modern Aikido.
This is not a claim that Aiki Jujutsu "came from China." Rather, it is a recognition that Japan’s indigenous and imported philosophies created a climate in which internal martial principles, rooted heavily in Taoist thought, could take shape. The body methods of Aiki represent a Japanese expression of a universal internal science.

When most people think of Japan’s intellectual and spiritual history, they picture Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, and the warrior ethos of the samurai. Yet beneath these familiar layers lies another foundational influence, Taoism, which quietly but profoundly shaped Japanese cosmology, ritual, healing arts, and even the internal mechanics of classical martial systems. 

Taoism did not arrive as a single organized religion. It entered Japan as a cultural current carried through Chinese scholarship, medicine, divination, alchemy, astrology, and esoteric Buddhist lineages. Over the centuries, these ideas were reorganized, localized, and eventually woven so deeply into Japanese thought that many came to be seen as "native," despite their Indian and Chinese origins.

​Taoist ideas first entered Japan during the Asuka and Nara periods (6th–8th centuries) through multiple channels, including Chinese and Korean scholars brought to serve the imperial court, the importation of Chinese medical and divination manuals, Buddhist monks who carried Taoist cosmology alongside their sutras, and immigrant families skilled in astrology, calendar-making, geomancy, and ritual magic. The Japanese court valued these specialists for their knowledge of yin-yang theory, five-phase theory, healing and longevity practices, astrological and calendrical calculation, spirit pacification rites, and geomancy. These teachings were not regarded as foreign religions but as essential technologies of governance, methods for maintaining cosmic order, protecting the emperor, and determining auspicious or dangerous times. Over time, this practical application of Taoist science formed the foundation of Japan's unique syncretic system known as Onmyodo.

The great Asian martial traditions did not emerge in isolation. They are the products of centuries of cultural exchange, philosophical evolution, and spiritual experimentation. When we trace the history backward, we uncover a connected lineage of ideas about the body, mind, and human potential.

​Yoga and Buddhism shaped Taoism. Taoism reshaped Buddhism and Yoga. and their interaction laid the psychological and technical foundations for the martial arts of China, Okinawa, and Japan. This is not a romantic myth of a single founder teaching “secret techniques” across Asia. It is the story of how ideas travel, adapt, and evolve, and how the pursuit of inner mastery naturally gives rise to systems of outer discipline.

In previous articles, and my book "The Secrets Guard Themselves," I’ve already explored how Taiji philosophy forms the foundation of many internal martial and healing arts, providing a framework for understanding balance, flow, and the interplay of complementary forces. To deepen that understanding, it is essential to look at the source from which Taiji emerged: Taoism, one of the oldest and most influential philosophical traditions in East Asia.
 
Although Aiki Jujutsu arose within the Japanese cultural context centuries later, the underlying concepts that shaped Japan’s understanding of Ki, and by extension the worldview in which Aiki was born, trace back to the Taoist exploration of harmony, polarity, and natural order. Understanding Taoism does not require adopting it as a religious belief system; rather, it offers invaluable context for how Eastern internal arts came to interpret the body, breath, and human experience.

For centuries, the internal martial arts have held a dual legacy, disciplines of combat and systems of profound healing. Ancient masters understood that true power and true health come from the same source: a harmonized body, mind, and spirit. Their training didn’t just prepare them for conflict. It cultivated longevity, vitality, and deep internal transformation. In the modern era, many of these practices have become fragmented. The “health-only” approaches inspired by martial traditions often emphasize flexibility or relaxation, but miss the energetic and structural depth that once defined the internal arts. Conversely, martial versions sometimes focus so heavily on technique that they lose the nurturing and restorative elements that made these systems sustainable for life.

The Aiki Healing Method (Aiki Ryoho 合気療法) was created to reunite these two halves of a complete tradition, restoring the balance between strength and softness, activity and stillness, training and recovery. Developed from the internal principles of American Yoshinkan Aiki Jujutsu, Aiki Ryoho translates the art’s subtle body mechanics and breathwork into a healing discipline that anyone can practice. No martial experience required. This system can be studied and certified independently of the martial curriculum, making it accessible to those who simply seek better health, centeredness, and peace of mind.

In my book, "The Secrets Guard Themselves: An Exploration In The Development Of Internal Power," I explored the concept of internal power as it appears across various ancient cultures. From India to China and Japan, civilizations have long sought to understand and harness the subtle energy that animates life and connects body, mind, and spirit. From the book:

"In India, the concept of internal power is captured by the word Prana प्राण, a Sanskrit term that means "vital energy" or "life force." Similar to Chi in Chinese culture, Prana is believed to be the animating force that flows through all living beings, sustaining life, health, and consciousness. Prana is the energy that binds the body, mind, and spirit together, and it can be cultivated, refined, and directed through specific practices.

In the ancient system of Yoga, Prana is a central concept. Yoga योग is a holistic discipline that aims to unite the body, mind, and spirit, and Prana plays a key role in this union. In the context of Yoga, Prana is cultivated primarily through breath control techniques and moving meditations known as Pranayama. The word Pranayama itself comes from two Sanskrit words, Prana (life force) and Ayama (extension or control), and refers to the practice of controlling and directing the breath to harness the power of Prana."

Later in that same work, I described several solo conditioning exercises used to develop what I call the Aiki body, a body capable of expressing power without external force, rooted in breath, alignment, and internal connection. These same principles that govern Prana in Yoga are deeply relevant to Aiki Jujutsu training, though they manifest through different cultural lenses and movement systems.

In this article, we’ll explore how the philosophy and physical practice of Yoga relate to solo Aiki Jujutsu training, where they align and diverge, and how these ideas can be reconciled, or wrestled with, within a Christian worldview.

Aiki Jujutsu is a close-quarters fighting system designed for use at clinch range, where control, balance, and subtle manipulation of the opponent decide the outcome. To make sure our techniques hold up under real pressure, we use a method called Kakedameshi 掛け試し (traditionally an Okinawan training method) is one of the ways we pressure test our Aiki Jujutsu. This sparring format pits two partners against each other, each trying to apply an Aiki Jujutsu technique against live resistance without relying on conventional Judo or wrestling throws. In the video below, you'll see Mike pull off two Irimi Nage, an Ude Kime Nage, and a Sankyo with a transition to Rokyo, all under realistic pressure.

This is Level 1 of Kakedameshi in our school, focusing purely on control and technique application. At higher levels, striking is added to the mix. Over time, internal skill development allows the practitioner to keep the opponent in a constant state of kuzushi, making each movement feel effortless as the opponent is always chasing their own stability and structure. If your techniques only work with a compliant uke, you're learning how to perform, not how to defend yourself...

Few arts suffer from an identity crisis like Aikido. With the rise of MMA, Aikido has become synonymous with "fake" martial arts, with countless videos being ridiculed by steroid-laden comment sections. There are those who come to its defense by pointing out the ignorance, that the masses would feel differently if they understood what they were looking at. There are some who try to justify Aikido's perceived ineffectiveness with the belief that it was never meant for fighting in the first place. And here's the thing no one wants to admit. All three groups are right.
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As an Aiki Jujutsu instructor, one that openly shares some of the more esoteric techniques of our art, I'm often met with the same resistance and misunderstanding about what's being demonstrated in some of my videos. And I get it! Unless you've experienced true internal martial arts, what's often demonstrated seems to defy to conventional understanding of biomechanics and physics. Most martial artists assume any partner exercise being shown is a demonstration of fighting technique, when in the case of internal arts these are often attribute-building exercises. Certainly no legitimate instructor has ever said "If someone grabs you in the street, flick your wrist to throw them across the room." These exercises are not about throwing your partner but rather measuring the effects of when that partner tries to exert force on your structure. But let's come back to Aikido...​