this might have been asked in a former thread and I might be shunned out of the aiki community for asking this but.... does anyone know the reasoning for the four claps in some aikido dojos to the shomen/joseki/front place of honor of the dojo??? i've heard shinto explainations, 4 elements, 4 directions, etc.... can anyone give me an explanation???
A Shinto ceremony based on O Sensei's beliefs, used by some schools as recognition of a system they never acknowledge or talk about.
So far as I know the claps are to awaken the gods within you. It used to be believed that the gods inside a person were the source of their power or ki.