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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.

Upcoming Events

Shintaido events

See our Events page for news of upcoming events such as British Shintaido Kangeiko and one day workshops.

Our events are open to all and usually you can register here on our website. It is advised to do so early since numbers are limited and events can sell out quickly.

See our upcoming events…

Find an Online Class for You

Shintaido online classes bojutsu

Alongside our regular British Shintaido classes around the UK, we also run online classes that are suitable for beginners.

Online classes allow practitioners without a local group to attend a regular class to improve and inform their own shintaido practice. Most classes are open to all, including beginners, and are run via Zoom.

See our online courses…

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)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgbSQKzrX5E

British Shintaido Publications

Aikukan: a Life in Shintaido, by Masashi Minagawa

Aikukan, the “space of love”, is the ideal Masashi Minagawa has sought, and the reality he has found, through his lifelong devotion to Shintaido. In this very personal book, he shares this space of love with us.

He takes us from his childhood in provincial Japan to 1960s Tokyo, where he first met the charismatic Hiroyuki Aoki, founder of Shintaido, and joined his Rakutenkai “group of optimists”, undergoing extraordinarily intense physical and spiritual training to discover a fuller, freer way of being and fulfil a new human potential

In 1990, after moving to the very different culture and environment of Britain, he had to go back to his deepest roots to find a way of communicating what he had learned to the people he met, few of whom were interested in Japanese martial arts. At the same time, he took on a major role in developing the worldwide Shintaido movement.

Filled with humour, anecdotes, insights both personal and spiritual, and extraordinary explanations of his creative processes, Aikukan is a book that every Shintaido practitioner will want to explore, as this best-loved of teachers shares his journey through Shintaido, and through life, with his customary modesty, wisdom and joy.

Buying the book

You can buy an English-language copy from Amazon in your home territory; search for “Masashi Minagawa Aikukan”.

British readers can purchase it by clicking on the cover image above.

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