just curious how different is ki aikido from other styles. Is it more sd effective or otherwise. Thanks.
Ki Aikido unsurprisingly emphasises the teaching of ki. So far as I am aware (I could be wrong) no other style of Aikido does this. Instead students are expected to 'find' ki through their Aikido training. I personaly can't comment on it's effectiveness in comparison to other Aikido styles since I don't know enough about them. However I would say that taught and practiced properly Ki Aikido should be as effective as any style. There would be no point if it wasn't. The quality of the teacher and dedication to training that the student puts in are in my opinion probably more important in a style like Ki Aikido. This is because it is very easy to misinterprit many key aspects of the art. Ki Aikido emphasises things like soft technique and following. I mention these because they are two of the most commonly miss-understood elements. I've seen very low kyu grades and even sometimes dan grades applying techniques as though they have the power of a very high teacher. And their uke magicaly falls down or goes flying through the air. That's the sort of thing that gets Ki Aikido a bad name. The idea behind the soft technique is if uke can't feel what your doing then uke can't react against it. So uke can't make a counter. However soft techniques must still work. So the level of softness a student can execute a technique with is a progressive thing. For practice in the dojo to help encourage the students development, students are always encouraged to be as soft as they can, but with some intention behind the technique. These techniques work for beginers and low grades because uke is following. The idea behind following is to allow people to perform the technique and become familiar with it even though they may not yet have the power to throw you around. So it's a teaching aid. And by following the technique, uke also learns. Uke learns where he/she is vulnerable and where nage is vulnerable. So uke learns where there may be opertunities to make a counter. The teaching of Ki is where students develop raw power that they can then integrate with their techniques. As with the techniques Ki is taught progressively with harder tests at higher levels. Ki development also helps to develop a strong mind which is absolutly critical when performing techniques that requier last minute split second timeing. I hope this answers the question. I could go on and on but I'd probably end up contradicting my self as my thinking on some of these things changes with the wind. I'm only a 2nd dan with a hell of a lot to learn.
