Akido, a japanese martial art developed by master Mohirei Ueshiba earlier this century, makes heavy use of the concept of ki. Aikido is one of the more spiritual martial arts and has been considered as 'moving zen'.
The name Aikido means 'the way of harmony of ki'. Just exactly what is this ki that one supposes to harmonize with is a controversial topic among Aikidoka's.
Some believe that the physical entity ki simply does not exist. Instead, the spirit, the intention, the bio-physico-psychological coordination through relaxation and awareness are concepts being used in the teaching. These Aikidoka's sometime tend to frown upon the philosophical/spiritual aspect of ki.
Other Aikidoka's believe that ki does exist as a physical entity and can be transmitted through space. They, on the other hand, make use of concepts such as ki of the universe, extending ki, etc. By citing these two extremes, the author does not wish to imply that the 'truth' lies somewhere in between. But the fact of the matter is that there is a large portion of Aikidoka who are still, and no doubt will continue be, on their 'quest for ki'.
The task is not simple since many sensei's are reluctant to talk about ki. Those who do, do it in a very oriental way: full of metaphor, image and lack of clarity. The aim of this article is surveying the writting and teaching of Kaiso, his deshi's: Ueshiba, Tohei, Yamada, Shioda, Saito, Saotome, Nadeau, Dobson, Homa ... (listed in no particular order) to find out what they did mean when they mentioned the concept ki, or to find out whether one can come up with a definite answer at all.
For the sake of simplicity, let's propose three simple definitions of ki:
1. Ki: the principle that governs the universe AND the individual, the cosmic truth.
2. Ki: the action from a particular state of mind and body that can have physical/psychological/physiological effect. This ki can be expressed, and hence, perceived through physical apprearance, behaviour, and body language.
3. Ki: similar to (2). However this ki can be expressed and perceived by means including but not limited to those listed in (2).