10. “Giving voice to the hidden cosmic breath”

Episode 10 describes the creation of Tenshingoso, the foundational kata (a sequence of movements) of Shintaido, which Aoki calls “an embodiment of the hidden cosmic breath.”

Aoki intended that the kata should be “…an embodiment and expression of the common Tao of many different disciplines, [which] simulates the cycle of a human life and even the rhythm of the cosmos.” He also intended that the kata should be concise and simple, take only a few minutes to practice, help us focus on the infinite horizon, and function as an antidote to the routine discouragements of daily life. The form that emerged after a process of research and development was named Tenshingoso, the Five Breaths of Cosmic Reality.

Aoki acknowledges his debt to his former teacher Shigeru Egami of Shotokai karate-do, and to master Hoken Inoue (also called Noriako Inoue) and his art of Shinwa Taido (also called Shin’ei Taido. Inoue was the nephew of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido). In many traditional martial arts, such an essential kata would be kept a secret. But Aoki’s aim was different than that of traditional arts, and he wanted to make Tenshingoso available to everyone.

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