HEALTH AND SAFETY
Proof of COVID vaccination + booster and well-fitting masks
are required for participation in dojo classes and events.

The Kinomichi Program at Our Dojo

Heart of San Francisco Aikido dojo also offers instruction in the art of Kinomichi. Kinomichi derives from the Japanese martial art of Aikido, and both arts are devoted to peace and harmony.

Kinomichi is an elegant fusion of French and Japanese movement influences, that encompasses elements of dance, as well as martial arts. It was developed in 1979 by Masamichi Noro, who was a direct student of the founder of Aikido.

Masamichi Noro infused elements of somatic methods, such as Feldenkrais and Eutony, into the practice of Aikido. Kinomichi is a partnered practice and the techniques are designed to create harmony in one’s own body so that we can create harmony with our training partner and help them to open their bodies and their hearts as well.

In this way, the art promotes flexibility, grace, and increased stamina, in a supportive learning environment. In Kinomichi, falling is optional.

Watch Masamichi Noro in dynamic practice.

History of Kinomichi

Kinomichi is derived from the Japanese martial art of Aikido, an art based on harmony and dedicated to peace. The founder of Kinomichi, Masamichi Noro, studied intensively with the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba before moving from Tokyo to France 1961 to teach Aikido there.

In France, Masamichi Noro became increasingly interested in creating harmony within one’s own body as a preparation for creating harmony with others. His inquiry led him to absorb elements of the many somatic methods thriving around him in Paris – Eutony, Feldenkrais, the work of Lili Ehrenfreid, to name a few – as well as the work of gifted physical therapists Gisele de Noiret and Thérèse-Marie Foix.

In 1979 Masamichi Noro began using the name Kinomichi for the somatic-infused version of Aikido that he had created. He died in 2013, but his art lives on, primarily in Europe.

Watch Takeharu Horo in stillness practice.

Instructor

Penny Sablove, chief instructor of Heart of San Francisco Aikido, has brought the art of Kinomichi to San Francisco. She began studying Kinomichi in Paris in February 2014 at the Korindo Dojo under the direction of Takeharu Noro (Masamichi Noro’s son) and also Odyle Noro (Masamichi Noro’s spouse). Penny was certified to teach in Kinomichi in April 2019 by Takeharu Noro and he encouraged her to teach here in the U.S.

Penny is also a 5th degree black belt in Aikido and as well as a physical therapist by profession, a background that also reflects the essential roots of Kinomichi.