Aiki (martial arts principle) Aiki (martial arts principle) Aiki from a Japanese budo term, at its most basic is a principle that allows a conditioned practitioner to negate or redirect an opponent's power. When applied, the aiki practitioner controls the actions of the attacker with minimal effort and with a distinct absence of muscular tension usually associated with physical effort. In Japanese "Aiki" is formed from two kanji: The kanji for "ai" is made of three radicals, "join", "one" and "mouth". Hence, "ai" symbolizes things coming together, merging. Aiki should not be confused with "wa" which refers to harmony. The kanji for "ki" represents
What Is Theosophy? What Is Theosophy? "What Is Theosophy?" is an editorial published in October 1879 in the Theosophical magazine "The Theosophist." It was compiled by Helena Blavatsky and included into the 2nd volume of the "Blavatsky Collected Writings." According to a doctoral thesis by Tim Rudbøg, in this "important" article Blavatsky "began conceptualizing her idea of 'Theosophy'." Blavatsky writes that, "according to lexicographers, the term "theosophia" is composed of two Greek words—"theos" "god," and "sophos" "wise." She then writes that Noah Webster defines it as "a supposed intercourse with God and superior spirits, and consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge, by "physical processes,"