Tōhei Kōichi

Tōhei Kōichi

Koichi Tohei ( jap.藤平光一* 20th January 1920 in Tokyo ; † 19th May 2011 ) was a Japanese aikido - a teacher and one of the few carriers of a 10th Dan .

Life

As a child, Tōhei was rather weak, so his father took him to Jūdō and Zen to strengthen his body.

In 1939 he met Ueshiba Morihei and began aikidō. He was one of his favorite students and in 1956 became head coach (shihan buchō) at Aikikai Honbu Dōjō . Through his trips to Hawaii (from 1953) and later to North America and Europe, he was instrumental in spreading Aikidō in the West. In 1969 he was awarded the 10th Dan by the founder.

Because of differences with Kisshōmaru Ueshiba , the son and successor of the Aikidō founder, he founded his own association Ki no Kenkyūkai in 1971 , but stayed in the Aikikai for the time being . In 1974 there was a final break. The style of Aikidō he founded is called Shin-Shin-Tōitsu Aikidō - "Aikido in unity of body and mind"; it is often referred to as Ki-Aikidō. In addition to martial arts , he taught Shin Shin Tōitsu Dō ( Ki training) , which was taken over from Tempu Nakamura , and a form of therapy based on Shiatsu , Kiatsu , in which Ki is allowed to flow into hardened muscles so that they relax.

Tōhei Kōichi died on May 19, 2011 at the age of 91 of pneumonia after a two-week hospital stay.

Works

Books

• Ki in daily life. Kristkeitz, Leimen 1979, ISBN 3-93233-742-5
• The Ki healing book: Self-healing through the activation and control of Ki. Goldmann, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-442-21830-1
• The ki book. The way to unity of mind and body. Kristkeitz, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-92150-897-5
• Kiatsu: healing with ki. Kristkeitz, Heidelberg 2003, ISBN 3-932337-21-2
• Aikido with Ki: Introduction to the practice of Shin-shin-tōitsu-Aikidō (with Koretoshi Maruyama ). Kristkeitz, Heidelberg 2005, ISBN 3-932337-06-9

Videos

• Authentic Aikido , 1960 (new edition Abanico 1998, ISBN 3-89540-132-3 )

Web links

• Website of the Ki Society Japan with curriculum vitae of Tōhei Kōichi (English)
• Website of the Ki Society in Europe with a short résumé of Koichi Tohei Sensei (Europe Ki Federation)
• Literature by and about Tōhei Kōichi in the catalog of the German National Library
• Website of the Aikido Journal with information about Tōhei Kōichi (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.shinichitohei.com/english/2010/01/birthday-of-koi.html
2. ↑ ^{a b} Aikido Journal Online : Koichi Tohei Sensei passes at age 91 ( Memento of the original from May 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ^ "Tohei, Koichi" ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Entry in the Encyclopedia of Aikido ( Memento of the original from February 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Stanley Pranin: Koichi Tohei's 10th dan Promotion

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Tōhei is the family name, Kōichi the first name.