Amy Buffenbarger
Shintaido Saturday
December 5, 2009
Martial arts for peace
How Shintaido teaches peacebuilding through finding individual peace
Sixteen adults in a semi-circle reach their arms toward imaginary stars. They chant “ooh” and “ahh” in peaceful harmony. Next, they clasp their hands before them, and end the exercise with a minute of meditative silence.
The adults were participants in the “Exploring Peace through Movement – Shintaido movement workshop,” hosted by American University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution program. The Saturday workshop was led by master Shintaido instructor Haruyoshi F. Ito.
Shintaido is a spiritual martial art based on moving meditation. It focuses on using body movement to deepen the connection one has with their inner self and nature. While it is a martial art, Shintaido does not involve combat.
“The form you make with your body acts like an antennae. You receive the energy from nature and broadcast that energy to the world around you,” said Ito. Through that practice, Shintaido artists believe they can achieve peace in their minds and bodies.
Shintaido practitioners believe the inner peace they have achieved can be shared outwardly through peacebuilding activities in their communities and work. They believe their work as peacemakers is highly connected to their own relationship with peace.
Elli Nagai-Rothe, a graduate student in the university’s program, organized the workshop. Nagai-Rothe has been practicing Shintaido for three years. She started to notice a connection between Shintaido and her studies in peace and conflict resolution.
“In the academic world there is intellectualizing and theorizing of peace and conflict. It’s in our head, not so much in our bodies. Shintaido can connect the two,” said Nagai-Rothe.
The workshop was organized to help participants explore the role of movement and the connection between body and mind. Then to use that connection to expand understanding and gain new insight for peace and conflict resolution. Rather than think of conflict resolution as an external issue to oneself, Nagai-Rothe hoped the participants would come out of the workshop with a more holistic understanding.
In layman’s terms, how is someone supposed to successfully resolve conflict in a community when they don’t have a full understanding of conflict as an individual? That’s what the workshop aimed to explain by introducing peaceful movements of Shintaido to connect the mind with the body and through discussion about how to use that connection in peacebuilding work.
For more information on Shintaido, watch this introductory video.
How Shintaido teaches peacebuilding through finding individual peace

Sixteen adults in a semi-circle reach their arms toward imaginary stars. They chant “ooh” and “ahh” in peaceful harmony. Next, they clasp their hands before them, and end the exercise with a minute of meditative silence.

The adults were participants in the “Exploring Peace through Movement – Shintaido movement workshop,” hosted by American University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution program. The Saturday workshop was led by master Shintaido instructor Haruyoshi F. Ito.

Shintaido is a spiritual martial art based on moving meditation. It focuses on using body movement to deepen the connection one has with their inner self and nature. While it is a martial art, Shintaido does not involve combat.

“The form you make with your body acts like an antennae. You receive the energy from nature and broadcast that energy to the world around you,” said Ito. Through that practice, Shintaido artists believe they can achieve peace in their minds and bodies.

Shintaido practitioners believe the inner peace they have achieved can be shared outwardly through peacebuilding activities in their communities and work. They believe their work as peacemakers is highly connected to their own relationship with peace.

Elli Nagai-Rothe, a graduate student in the university’s program, organized the workshop. Nagai-Rothe has been practicing Shintaido for three years. She started to notice a connection between Shintaido and her studies in peace and conflict resolution.

“In the academic world there is intellectualizing and theorizing of peace and conflict. It’s in our head, not so much in our bodies. Shintaido can connect the two,” said Nagai-Rothe.

The workshop was organized to help participants explore the role of movement and the connection between body and mind. Then to use that connection to expand understanding and gain new insight for peace and conflict resolution. Rather than think of conflict resolution as an external issue to oneself, Nagai-Rothe hoped the participants would come out of the workshop with a more holistic understanding.

In layman’s terms, how is someone supposed to successfully resolve conflict in a community when they don’t have a full understanding of conflict as an individual? That’s what the workshop aimed to explain by introducing peaceful movements of Shintaido to connect the mind with the body and through discussion about how to use that connection in peacebuilding work.

For more information on Shintaido, watch this introductory video.