A useful exercise
Yoshigasaki Sensei shows an exercise for learning to extend Ki.
"Open your hands, extend Ki. Here! OK."
Extending Ki
Propaganda
Summary
"Extending Ki with the 'unbendable arm' is not so a good idea. This is just a lie to impress people. It is propaganda.
This propaganda is not Tohei Sensei's fault. Master Ueshiba Morihei also made this propaganda. So did all the old martial arts.
Samurai clans hired someone to teach martial arts. The techniques were named after the clan.
When a clan had 500 years of history, they said that the techniques had 500 years of tradition. But it was only the name, because each instructor taught as he wanted.
Many people around the world today like to say: we practice a traditional Japanese martial art that has 500 years of history. It's all a lie.
Each person taught his own techniques. So there is no such continuity of techniques.
All these techniques were just for combat. When you are 20 or 30 years old you are strong, but with 40 or 50 years old physical strength ends. There are maximum 20 years, rather only 10 years to fight. So, this tradition of impressing people was born.
So, what is the best method to learn to extend Ki?
This is the best way to learn extending Ki. This is very useful and really extending Ki."
Dojo and Reality
In the 2006 film "Hana yori mo naho", director Koreeda Hirokazu portrays a somewhat shy samurai (Soza-san) who temporarily lives in a slum in Edo in search of his father's killer. Little Shinbo was bullied by other children and now wants to learn sword fighting.
Soza-san does not teach outside of his dojo. So another samurai takes over the lessons. A young man from the neighborhood, who likes fighting, doubts the practical use of techniques learned in the dojo. He challenges Soza-san and finishes him off with his unconventional methods.