Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

 

Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

 

Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

 

Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

 

Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

 

Find physical and emotional wellbeing through a martial art for the 21st century

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British Shintaido manages and supports the practice of Shintaido in the UK. We run workshops and courses, hold exams and supervise how Shintaido is taught.

Find out more about Shintaido and how you can learn this unique, powerful and beautiful art.

What is Shintaido?

Shintaido (the New Body Way) is a modern movement system based on traditional Japanese martial arts but with the emphasis on self development and artistic expression rather than self defence. Its origins lie principally in karate and sword technique.

The range of movements is enormous and can be made suitable for people in a wide range of physical conditions. Some are open and energetic, while others are soft and meditative. Classes include group work, partner practice and solo exercises. There are gentle exercises for the more elderly or infirm looking for a more natural way of moving, and plenty of open and energetic movement for young and healthy people seeking to challenge themselves and extend their horizons.

The curriculum is based around three fundamental ‘waza’ (formal sequences). The first is ‘Eiko’: an explosive movement that is open, energetic, noisy and free. The second is ‘Tenshingoso’: a short form containing the basis of all Shintaido technique. The third, ‘Meiso’, is a moving meditation characterized by soft and flowing movement. Together these help practitioners to re-invent their lives and the way they interact with people around them.

While the central ideas and forms of Shintaido can be understood quickly, the extended curriculum is vast and varied, and can form the basis of a lifetime of exploration.

Benefits

Shintaido promotes a healthy mind and spirit as much as a healthy body. The benefits of practising include:

  • Enhancing physical health
  • Reducing stress
  • Developing ki, vital energy
  • Opening the mind
  • Increasing communication skills
  • Enhancing creativity
  • Increasing concentration
  • Strengthening individuality.

(from Gale’s Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine)

British Shintaido Annual Lectures

The 2022 Lecture, by Margaret Guay, is on the subject of “The Body is the Message of the Universe: Are We Ready to Receive the Message”. She looks at the forms and practices of Shintaido in the dual contexts of animal evolution, and infant development.

For the 2021 lecture, Peter Furtado spoke on the subject of the Mission of the Rakutenkai, 1960s-2020s. He considered what the group of practitioners who worked with Aoki Sensei to develop Shintaido in the 1960s were trying to achieve, in the context of politics and culture of 1960s Japan. He then asked how that original mission has matured and changed over the years, and its importance – and potential relevance to us today as we offer Shintaido to a new generation.