The following four main rules ("yon dai gensoku") were developed by Koichi Tohei sensei as a means a helping people to coordinate their minds and bodies so as to at their most effective not only in aikido, but also in everyday life.
At many dojo in Japan a class will begin with the sensei reading from Tohei's "Ki Sayings" while students repeat.

The following loose translation is an excerpt adapted from the first chapter of "Ki Sayings" by Koichi Tohei.

"Shin shin toitsu no yon dai gensoku"
Four Major Principles To Unify Mind And Body

"seika no itten ni kokoro o shizume toitsu suru"
1. Let your mind sink to the 'one point'* and focus your concentration there.

"zenshin no chikara o kanzen ni nuku"
2. Release all physical tension from your body.

"karada no subete no bubun no omomi o, sono saikabu ni oku"
3. Imagine the weight of each part of your body is in its lowest place.

"ki o dasu"
4. Extend ki

*one point" means a place in your lower abdomen very approximately 10 centimeters (4 inches)
below your navel. It is where your center of gravity is, so it is different for each person.

Four rules sound like a lot to be able to master all at the same time, but don't worry. If you can do just one of them properly, then you will automatically be doing the other ones. Lose one and you lose them all.

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