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“Yabai” [a Japanese slang word/adjective, originally meant something dangerous/risky, but now it also means amazing, cool, insane, crazy, or extreme.]

I thought it was a very recent word, but when I looked up its etymology, it seems to have originated from “yaba”, which was used in the Edo period. “Yaba” means “something inconvenient, outrageous thing to do, something bizarre”, but later, the meaning of “extremely good” seems to have been added.

When something tastes good, it is “yabai”, but even when something tastes bad, it is “yabai”. When you are lucky, it is “yabai”, and even when you are in a tight spot, it is “yabai”!

It may be a convenient term, but if we can only use the same expression to describe different conditions/state of mind, our ability to properly grasp the workings of our mind will deteriorate. It is as if we are looking at a low-resolution image, and we cannot clearly understand our own state of mind.

It becomes impossible to recognize the subtle workings of the mind, such as a sense of loneliness in the emotion of happiness, or a sense of relief in the emotion of sadness. By expressing the workings of the mind in concrete terms, the resolution becomes higher and we can better understand our own mind. Then, we will be able to [properly] approach “why I feel the way I do,” and we will be able to deal with various effects/influences of the mind that occur within us.

In my early years as an instructor, I sometimes fell into a state of anxiety at the most critical moments. Because I did not know on my own why I felt anxious, that anxiety caused even greater anxiety. When this happened, there was nothing I could do about it, and it was so painful that I decided to at least write down the feelings/sensations that I was having and try to sort them out.

I was feeling fuzzy in my head and felt like I was going around in circles. My neck and shoulders were stiff and I felt stagnant/getting stuck. Above all, even though I was learning to “calm and focus the mind at the One Point in the lower abdomen”, my mind was actually disturbed. There was no way things would go well in such a state!

What exactly is this feeling/sensation I’m experiencing right now? Why is it happening? As I practiced Ki breathing and my mind became calmer, I suddenly realized something.

“Oh, I’m actually scared. That’s why my body is reacting.”

At the time, I was afraid of failing and losing the reputation/respect from those around me.

However, I was unconsciously denying it in my mind. The fear of losing one’s reputation is instinctive and difficult to eliminate. However, it is possible to turn our mind from an inward-looking mind to outward-looking one.

Without denying that I was scared, the moment I turned my mind to what I needed to do to achieve my goal, the vague anxiety began to fade away. I became anxious because I was unable to deal with the situation on my own, so to eliminate my anxiety, I had to first know my own condition correctly.

Let’s say we get very nervous and stiff in an important situation. When we are overly nervous, we cannot see/understand the state of our mind correctly. Then the nervousness becomes an issue that we cannot handle. Once we realize we are nervous, we can work on why it is happening and how we can overcome it. When this happens, our anxiety becomes relatively small and less noticeable.

How can we properly assess our own condition/state of mind? One method I recommend is to concretely express the workings/state of our own mind. However, we should not just describe it with a single word like “yabai”! Being able to express it concretely means being able to understand our condition. It means being able to correctly grasp the workings of our mind.

This is also important when we practice Shinshin Toitsu Aikido. We can relax our body properly only when we become aware of the tension we have and understand the state of our mind that causes us to tense up.

Know thyself – This is the most basic, but most difficult thing to do. Knowing thyself is honed by expressing concretely our own conditions.

Translated by Mayumi Case
Edited by David Shaner
Eastern Ki Federation
https://easternkifederation.org/

Original article in Japanese: 自分の状態を表現する (Jibun no Jo-tai o Hyо-gen Suru)
May 1, 2025 
https://shinichitohei.com/japanese/04-%e3%83%a1%e3%83%bc%e3%83%ab%e3%83%9e%e3%82%ac%e3%82%b8%e3%83%b3/35024/

Each of us has an important turning point in our life. The most important transformational turning point for me came during my uchideshi training. Because I was aiming to become the successor, my training period was shortened, and it was set to be three years to determine/assess my qualifications, as opposed to the usual ten years.

The agreement was that if I did not “sprout” after three years, I would give up. A period of three years is about 1,000 days, and not a single day could be wasted. I was given the opportunity to be Koichi Tohei Sensei’s otomo, so I was learning his techniques up close, keeping my eyes peeled.

One day, after training, Tohei Sensei said something unexpected to me. “You are [always] staying closest to me, but you don’t seem to be seeing me at all. If you continue like this, you will stay the same no matter how many years you train.”

I was quite perplexed to be told that I am “not seeing anything,” because I was training quite seriously. I couldn’t quite accept what I was told, and I honestly wanted to understand what he meant.

The turning point came suddenly. During practice, Koichi Tohei Sensei saw me colliding with my partner and not being able to throw him, and asked me, “What does the person in front of you mean to you?”

I knew [the answer] in my head. The person in front of me is not an object to be thrown by force, but a human being who can move with me as one, and if I do not create a boundary between us, I can lead him without colliding.

In reality, however, my take on “how to be” was different. To be honest, I was seeing my partner as “an opponent I am going to throw”. Deep down in my heart, I was thinking, “I want to move this person to do what I want.” I was looking very hard at just “how to do”, such as the form and movement of the technique, and I was not looking at it from the perspective of “in what state of mind I should be in to do the technique”.

As I began to pay attention to “how to be”, I realized that Koichi Tohei Sensei was treating people in the same way not only in the dojo, but also in his daily life. It is the posture/ attitude of always working together, without trying to force the other person to move. It is the way/state of “being one”, without drawing a boundary between “myself” and “the other person.”

I understood that, because my way/state of being is conveyed to my partner through my “Ki,” no unconscious resistance is created, so I can lead freely and throw without colliding. I also learned that in order to “Taitoku” (acquire/master) something, it is important to practice this state of “being one” in our daily life.

I was only learning “how to do” and not looking at “how to be”. Because there is a foundation of “how to be”, we can build “how to do” on top of it. If we learn only “how to do”, without “how to be”, we will never be able to master the technique.

In today’s information society, the importance of learning through a [traditional] master-disciple relationship is being questioned. This type of learning might seem pointless because we can get information from the Internet without having to go through the trouble of putting ourselves in complicated and troublesome relationships and spending years in training.

This is certainly true in terms of learning “how to do”. If the content is the same, it might not matter from whom we learn it. And the method [of learning “how to do”] ought to allow us to learn as effectively as possible in the shortest possible time. There is no point in wasting time on unnecessary things.

On the other hand, “how to be” is transmitted from person to person, so who we learn it from is important. It is something that is sensed and learned in each and every move made [by one’s master] in daily life. That is why it was important to spend time with one’s master. I believe that uchideshi training existed for this purpose.

During my uchideshi training, however, I was initially looking at “how to do” only, so it was no surprise that I was told I was “not seeing anything”. Just learning/understanding “how to do” something does not mean we have mastered/embodied it. Even if “how to do” is the same, if “how to be” is different, it will be “similar, but not the same.”

While “how to do” things changes flexibly with the changing times and technological innovations, “how to be” always remains the same. I believe that acquiring and mastering this “how to be” state of “being one” is what we mean by succession. Most importantly, for this reason, I focus upon and value going back to the basics of “how to be”.

Translated by Mayumi Case
Edited by David Shaner
Eastern Ki Federation
https://easternkifederation.org/

Original article in Japanese: やり方とあり方 (Yarikata to Arikata)
April 1, 2025 
https://shinichitohei.com/japanese/04-%e3%83%a1%e3%83%bc%e3%83%ab%e3%83%9e%e3%82%ac%e3%82%b8%e3%83%b3/35024/

Whenever Koichi Tohei sensei taught “Ki”, there was a talk he made at the beginning without fail.

“We must not forget that at the root of the relative world lies the absolute universe. We are part of the universe, and by understanding the nature of the universe, we can live in accordance with the principles of the universe.”

Learning by his side as an Uchideshi, I heard the same talk over and over again, so I gradually started to feel “Oh, it is the same story again”. One day after training was over, Koichi Tohei sensei called me in.

“You were listening to me with a look on your face that said, oh, the same story again.”

I was startled and said, “No, I was not!”, trying to cover it up.

“Don’t lie. I am looking at your Ki. I know you were.”

“Actually…, I did, sir, only a little bit,” I admitted.

When Koichi Tohei sensei heard me say this, he laughed out loud, and said, “Have you ever once wondered why I keep repeating the same talk?” I certainly had never thought about it and did not know why at the time.

25 years have passed since then, and I have had many experiences and now I know better. He repeated the same talk every time, because it was the most important thing. We, humans, tend to forget the most important things!

We live in a relative world. Where there is “up,” there is “down,” and where there is “good,” there is “evil.” Where there is a “parent,” there is a “child,” and so it is with “me” and “you.” Social life is possible because we perceive things relatively.

On the other hand, all existence originates from the Ki of the universe, so from the perspective of Ki, everything that exists is connected through ki at the root. But living in a relative world, it is easy to forget this fact.

In terms of Shinshin Toitsu Aikido technique practice, if we can only view the relationship [between nage and uke] relatively, it becomes “the thrower” and “the thrown”. When a boundary is created, conflict and resistance arise, and the technique does not work. When we are one with the universe, and the Ki is flowing through us, there should be no boundary. This is why the techniques work.

In our daily lives, we create boundaries everywhere. Those who persuade, those who are persuaded; those who sell, those who are sold. Those who preach and those who are preached to; those who train and those who are trained. If we view the relationship as relative and the boundary is created, Ki will not flow through. In such a case, there is no sense of oneness.

For example, we can view the relationship as the one “teaching” and the one “being taught,” but we can also view it as “learning together from their respective standpoints.” In such a case, the sense of oneness is created. If we do not forget the fact that all things are connected by Ki at the root of our relative perceptions, we can do things as one.

However, putting this into practice in daily life is sometimes not easy. Why is that? In our social and family situations/environments, we are constantly facing harsh realities of life. However, that is not the real cause.

[The real reason/cause is] because humans are most susceptible to forgetting the most obvious and important things. That is why it is necessary to check/confirm each and every time.

Translated by Mayumi Case
Edited by David Shaner
Eastern Ki Federation
https://easternkifederation.org/

Original article in Japanese: 毎回、確認する (Maikai, Kakunin Suru)
March 1, 2025 
https://shinichitohei.com/japanese/04-%e3%83%a1%e3%83%bc%e3%83%ab%e3%83%9e%e3%82%ac%e3%82%b8%e3%83%b3/35024/

This program is broadcast in English and introduces Japanese medical technology and health care. It is a 28 minutes long program. I will appear in the latter 6 minutes of the program, “Tips for healthy living” part. I spoke about “posture” and “breathing” in Shinshin Toitsu Aikido.

Information about the broadcast is as follows. The program consists of a first part and a second part, and this is the first part of the broadcast.

Broadcasting time and date (Japan standard time)
2025
June 30 (Mon) 11:30pm
July 1 (Tue) 5:30am- /12:30pm- / 6:30pm-
July 5 (Sat) 4:00am

How to watch
live streaming
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/live

On demand
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/medicalfrontiers
After the broadcast, the program can be viewed on-demand at any time for free for one year on the following page.

Cable TV
In Japan, if you have a contract with J-com or other cable TV companies, you can watch the program on your TV.
Overseas viewing will also depend on your cable TV subscription.

NHK World Japan site
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2050175
* The program will be broadcast several times, taking into account the viewing time in each country.

I had planned to respond in Japanese, but as I communicated with the reporter, I responded in English. I have had various opportunities to work for NHK, including live broadcasts and recordings, but this was the first time for me to respond in English, and I am not used to it, but I did my best.

This is a program that can be viewed in many countries, so I would be happy if I could be of help to everyone.

“I am an exception. It won’t happen to me.” – this assumption occurs in a variety of everyday situations.

On the roadway, we may see motorists accelerating into an intersection even though thetraffic light is turning red. When the green light at a crosswalk flashes, we may also see pedestrians rushing to enter the crosswalk to cross the street.

Some people are driving cars or riding bicycles while looking  at their phones. At crosswalks, we may also see some pedestrians stand at the very edge of the roadway while looking at their phones.

Even if we are fortunate enough to avoid an accident at that moment, when a crisis does happen, we would not be able to respond to it at all in these conditions.

The notion that “I don’t cause accidents”, or “I just don’t get into accidents”, may be subconsciously turning us away from the reality of how accidents occur.

We will be holding a “Ki Forum” on Tuesday, February 11, which is Japan’s National Foundation Day. The main theme will be “Considering Crisis Management”.

But, why crisis management now?

Crisis management refers to policies and systems to deal with/responding to unforeseen disasters, accidents, incidents, etc., so that effective measures can be quickly taken to save lives and prevent the spread of damage. Because of this, some people may see it as an initiative taken by the national government, local governments, companies, etc.

As seen in the crimes caused by “Yami Baito” that have been an issue [in Japan] since last year, we are now in an era where crisis management is no longer “someone else’s business”, but is now a “personal matter” [*“Yami Baito” refers to illegal part-time job ads posted by criminal gangs on social media and encrypted messaging platforms, which try to trick people into committing, or often force people to commit serious crimes].

Technical measures such as securing locks and strengthening security are important, but the most important thing, in my opinion, is to learn the concept of crisis management/how to approach crisis management.

However, there aren’t many opportunities to learn about crisis management. Once we acquire the basics of the concept, we can apply it in any environment, as an individual, at home, at school, at businesses, or in the local community.

This is exactly the same as “Building the Foundation” in Shinshin Toitsu Aikido training.

For this coming Ki Forum, our guest speaker will be Toshiro Yonemura, former Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

In addition to his role as the Superintendent General of the Metropolitan Police, Mr. Yonemura was responsible for the country’s crisis management as the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for Crisis Management, and also served as Chief Security Officer for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Mr. Yonemura will talk about his thoughts on crisis management based on his experience.

Mr. Yonemura says, “In crisis management, it is important to understand people.

” Humans unconsciously try to avoid things they do not desire. Incidents or disasters are something we certainly never want to see happen. So we may unconsciously choose to “not see” them.

Even when an unexpected situation actually occurs, we try to maintain our composure by saying, “There’s no way this kind of things could actually happen”, and convincing ourselves that such a situation is totally within the bounds of normality. This is known as “normalcy bias,” which occurs during major disasters.

Simply understanding “what to do in an emergency” in our head only is an armchair theory. It’s important to be ready to act when a crisis occurs. Mr. Yonemura gives specific instructions on what needs to be done to achieve this.

This is a story from when I went overseas with Koichi Tohei Sensei as his otomo during my uchideshi training.

It was my role as his otomo to check the evacuation route at the hotels where we were staying. I was specifically instructed to check the routes thoroughly on site, including whether there are multiple evacuation routes, or whether we can evacuate even with our eyes closed!

At first, I felt, “Is it really necessary to go this far?” However, I later learned that this was a precautionary measure to allow evacuation in the event of a fire, even if there was no visibility. When I actually checked, I found that we could not use the emergency exits at some hotels because things had been placed there [serving as obstacles to the exit].

Koichi Tohei sensei seemed to have learned this type of precaution from his experiences in the war, but he had me do this as part of my training to acquire “Ki”. Because our Ki is extending, we are able to sense danger, and because our Ki is flowing through everywhere, we are able prepare for it.

At the Ki Forum, we will draw on Mr. Yonemura’s valuable stories based on his experience. Together with all the participants, we will consider the use of our Ki in crisis management.

* This event, Ki Forum 2025, has already taken place.

Translated by Mayumi Case
Edited by David Shaner
Eastern Ki Federation
https://easternkifederation.org/

Original article in Japanese: なぜ今、危機管理なのか (Naze Ima, Kikikanri nanoka)
January 4, 2025 
https://shinichitohei.com/japanese/04-%e3%83%a1%e3%83%bc%e3%83%ab%e3%83%9e%e3%82%ac%e3%82%b8%e3%83%b3/35024/