Kyusho Aikido: A short guide to the use of Acupuncture points in Aikido

For centuries Chinese healers have used Acupuncture points to treat a wide range of physical and mental disorders. These points, which are regarded as being key locations in the body’s energy pathways, are said to be connected to the body’s internal organs and when stimulated can cure bodily disorders. Some of these Acupuncture points are also used to produce a calming effect, and others to improve mental acuity. So stimulating Acupuncture points is intended to return the body and mind to a healthy, balanced state. Similarly, Aikido assumes that attackers are temporarily out of balance. Aikido practitioners blend with the attacking energy, and attempt to return it to a balanced state. Thus both Aikido and Acupuncture are based on the same idea of restoring harmony and balance to states of physical or mental disorder. This book explores the idea of combining the two practices. In it the author examines a range of Aikido techniques and exercises that can be easily adapted to allow the stimulation of certain Acupuncture points for the purpose of promoting or restoring body, mind and spirit harmony, or to improve the efficacy of techniques.