Ki Society World Headquarters
3515 O-aza Akabane
Ichikai-machi, Haga-gun
Tochigi-ken, 321-34 JAPAN
Special Report on the 17th Annual All Japan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Taigi Competition
Participation by 122 entrants in 61 pairs and 8 teams
First step to next year's International Taigi Competition
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Participants in the Taigi competition held the attention of the capacity audience throughout the day, beginning with the Children's division in the morning and lasting until 3 o'clock in the afternoon with the College student and Adult divisions. Centering on the new scoring system, a number of new innovations were successfully introduced this year in preparation for the first International Taigi Competition next year, opening the door on a new era for Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido.
June 18, 1995 is the date on which the 17th Annual All Japan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Taigi Competition was held at the World Headquarters of the Ki Society, in the large main Tenshinkan Dojo. This year's Taigi competition drew a lot of attention because it was a trial run for the 1st annual International Taigi Competition. In this special bulletin of the Ki-Aikido News we describe this year's Taigi Competition and some of the features of the new system which will be formally initiated next year.
In order to deliver a more immediate and objective judgment of Taigi performance, placards were set up on which the performers' score was to be posted on a decimal scale immediately after each Taigi was completed, with a maximum of 10 points available. There were 10 judges in all, who took up positions in different places surrounding the area of the mat marked off for the competition, with 2 overseers and 2 primary judges at the front edge, and 2 assistant judges at each of 3 places around the mat. Each of the judges were provided in advance with 3 scorecards listing detailed criteria for every group that performed the Taigi, containing scored checklists of both general Aikido and Taigi-specific performance criteria. Every group starts with a clean slate or a perfect 10, but points or fractions of points are subtracted whenever one of the criteria is not met. The scores are assembled and tallied immediately after they are recorded. Although every group is scored independently by each of the judges, to avoid skewing the results, the highest and lowest scores are eliminated, and an average is taken of all the remaining scores in between. These results are then posted immediately on large placards for all of the audience, as well as for the group which just performed to see. This method is the same as that employed for sports like figure skating in the Olympics, and not only provides immediate feedback on performance, but also represents a major step forward in objective judgment.
There are a total of 34 specific items in the criteria for judging the Taigi. On one of the 3 scorecards, for example for the new compulsory (Kitei) Taigi which is a series of 6 prescribed Aikido arts, there are 3 decimally-scored criteria for each art, making a total of 18 Taigi-specific criteria. Even so, the Taigi-specific scores amount to only 1.8 of the total of 10 points available. Another scorecard lists 8 general performance criteria which score the participants on such items as balanced use of the delineated mat space, whether or not the uniform or hakama become disheveled, or whether the Taigi is performed within the designated time limit. Nevertheless, even if all of these points are taken off, the general performance criteria only amount to a total of 1.2 out of 10 points. The third scorecard concerns the most important part of the Taigi, that is the level of mind and body unification which the participants manage to demonstrate. There are 8 fundamental criteria on the scorecard for mind and body unification, which afford a total of 7.0 points. These criteria provide a strict and impartial measure of mind and body unification through such items as the posture of the participants at entry and exit, timing of the bow, and whether or not one of the arts was skipped, done out of order, or performed incorrectly. A mistake on any of these 8 criteria can cost the participants fully one or two points per criteria, reflecting the relative importance given in the Taigi competition to the quality of mind and body unification which is fundamental to Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido. Also included in these fundamental criteria are the original 3 standard criteria for the Taigi, BALANCE, RHYTHM, and LARGENESS. In other words, the Taigi Competition aims not just to judge the technical skill of an Aikidoist's performance, but primarily the quality and depth of the performers' mind and body unification. This has always been the purpose of the Taigi Competition, but this year for the first time that has become an objective and measurable quality.
After lunch the afternoon session opened with the High school student's division, which brought to the Aikido arts a greater sense of speed and size. This was followed by the College student's division, which held the audience attention rooted to the center of the mat in the large dojo. Exceptionally beautiful performances were given by groups from the Keio University High School in the High school division, as well as by groups from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Keio University in the College student's division.
Top performances were demonstrated in the Young adult's and Adult's division by groups from the Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Chiba, and Kansai regions, with a striking performance in the Group division by members of the Tokyo Institute of Technology Ki-Aikido Club. In the awards ceremony held at the end of the Taigi Competition a special award was presented from the Japanese Minister of Welfare, with top awards going to Shinichi Tohei and Shuichi Wakai from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, to Yoshiyasu Ichinose and Hideto Mizuno of Keio University, and to Megumi Tsuruta and Akihiro Kurita from the Yushinkan Dojo in Kanagawa Prefecture.
This year's All Japan Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Taigi Competition was in this way a major step toward next year's first annual International Taigi Competition, and provides a distinct glimpse of next year's success.
[RIGHT COLUMN, top to bottom]
Note: Names of award winners are presented below with nage first and uke second.
All 3 prizes in the High school division were taken by students from the Keio University High School. The Gold medal went to Tetsuo Hosono and Daisuke Ishikawa, the Silver medal went to Masaaki Kurihara and Tomoo Ishimaru, and the Bronze medal went to Yuichiro Anpo and Kazuo Kawamura.
In the Young adult's division the Gold medal was won by Megumi Tsuruta and Akihiro Kurita from the Yushinkan Dojo in Kanagawa Prefecture, while the Silver medal was taken by Harumi Tanaka and Hisao Oishi from the Shizuoka Dojo in Shizuoka Prefecture, and the Bronze medal went to Yu Matsuo and Ken Sasaki from the Koshinkan Dojo in the Kansai region.
In the Adult's division the Gold medal was awarded to Shosuke Okada and Yu Matsuo from the Koshinkan Dojo in the Kansai region, with the Silver medal going to Tadahiro Katayori and Kazuaki Shiroyama from the Mobara Yushinkan Dojo in Chiba Prefecture, and the Bronze prize given to Tetsuro Irie and Yasuzo Matsumoto from the Koshinkan Dojo in the Kansai region.
Top performance of Aikido arts by women demonstrated the flow and graceful relaxation of the art.
In the College student's division the Gold medal was awarded to Shinichi Tohei and Shuichi Wakai from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, with the Silver medal going to Yoshiyasu Ichinose and Hideto Mizuno of Keio University, and the Bronze medal taken by Daisaburo Yahoko and Takuto Sumitani of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Prizes were also awarded to Isao Kitano and Hiromichi Oyama of Keio University, Etsu Tanaya and Emi Kouda of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Tomoko Akashio and Taku Ota from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
In the College Group division the Gold medal went to the Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Club at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, with the Silver medal going to Physical Education Association Aikido Club at Keio University, and the Bronze medal awarded to the Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido Club at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.
Tohei Sensei's concluding remarks at the Taigi Competition left a deep impression on each of the participants: "Under the new scoring system, some of you may have been surprised to find your scores were lower than you expected. But you cannot hide the fact if your Aikido arts are ineffective. You might be able to fool your fellow man, but you cannot fool the universe. Since you have decided to commit your time and effort to training, I sincerely want you to master the real thing."
This year for the first time a new scoring system was introduced into the Taigi competition, with the results tallied and posted immediately after the performance.