Koichi Tohei was born in 1920, at the Tochigi prefecture in the north of Japan.  Fragile as a child, he starts Judo at the age of 9.

In 1939, he was introduced by Matsuei Mon, one of his instructors, to Morihei Ueshiba.

In 1942, he was sent to the front, there he took conscience of his position amongst the   universe, and the energy center located in the abdomen region of the body.

After the   war, he returned to lwama to continue training. At the same time, he met a yoga   teacher who showed him the secrets fo the unity of the body and the spirit.

He was named 8th dan in 1952, and 9th dan in 1960, and he became the chief   instructor of the Aïkikaï Hombu Dojo. He proposed to create a class of Ki (unifiying   the body and the spirit), but his request was refused. He decided then to leave for the   USA, where he founded, in 1974, the "SHINSHIN TOITSU AIKIDOKAI" or   Aikido according to the principles of the union of the mind and the body. A few months   before his death Morihei Usheiba named him 10th dan.