Shintaidō

Shintaido (新体道, a Japanese word translated as ‘New Body Way’) is a system of movement which aims to use the body as a means of expression and communication.

Incorporating both physical and artistic elements, it was created in Japan in the 1960s.

Its roots lay in the traditional Japanese martial arts, Chinese medicine and Buddhist meditation techniques, while its creator Hiroyuki Aoki was also influenced by modern Western art and Christianity.

The roots of Shintaido lie in karate(空手, empty hand), which had been brought to Tokyo from Okinawa by Gichin Funakoshi in 1922.^[2]

Shintaido assumes that the challenges facing modern people are more rooted in emotional and psychological matters than physical. Shintaido offers body movements that aim to build resources to live better and develop a new 'way of being' that is more intuitive, aware, and less tense; this stems from the belief that the freer the body, the more effective its movements can be.
The hope of founder Hiroyuki Aoki was to create a martial art that could reach the level of great art.^[8] so beauty and fluidity are essential aspects.  
As well as being a practical martial art Shintaido aims to be a form of artistic expression, a healthy exercise, and a path of self-discovery and transformation.^[1]

Shintaido is practised with bare hands, but the curriculum also includes bojutsu (棒術), involving the use of the long staff (or bō, 棒), and kenjutsu (剣術), using a wooden sword (or bokuto, 木刀).