Testimonial

Making tea, with Ki

Pete Bailie Bristol Ki Aikido Club

16 November 2025

Sensei Pete Bailie is a welcoming presence at headquarters. He has travelled from Bristol, where he teaches at the local Ki Aikido club — a role he has held for seventeen years, during which time he achieved 7th Dan.

Pete is known for two passions beyond the mat: tea and curry. At courses he has been known to volunteer members to make the tea, then supervise with exacting but encouraging standards. He once celebrated his 60th birthday by eating sixty curries with sixty friends — earning himself a reputation as Bristol’s foremost authority on the subject.

We sat down with Pete to find out what brought him to Ki Aikido, what keeps him coming back, and the lesson he values most from over three decades of practice.

The Beginning

From karate to Ki

Pete started Ki Aikido in 1992. Before that, he had been practising karate — but found it wasn’t giving him what he was looking for.

What struck him immediately was the combination of relaxation and power. As an actor who taught movement practice, Pete found Ki Aikido was naturally complementary to his existing work — the principles of coordinated movement, calm awareness, and controlled presence translated directly.

Pete during practice at a Ki Federation course

Pete during practice at a weekend course

Pete working with a partner during practice

The Practice

Better after than before

When asked what he enjoys most about practice, Pete’s answer is simple and immediate.

The benefits extend well beyond the dojo. Ki Aikido, Pete says, reduces worry, stress and conflict in his life. After more than thirty years, the practice continues to offer something new — a deepening rather than a plateau.

His favourite exercise is unraisable body; his favourite technique is Tenchinage. Both demand a quality of calm groundedness that Pete sees as central to what Ki Aikido teaches.

Pete demonstrating technique with a smile

Always with a smile on the mat

The Greatest Lesson

Right is might

Asked to describe Aikido in three words, Pete doesn’t hesitate: “Zesty, fiesty, hearty.” It is a characteristically Pete answer — warm, direct, and a little unexpected.

But when the conversation turns to the greatest lesson Aikido has taught him, his answer carries a different weight. It is the kind of quiet inversion that sits at the heart of Ki Aikido — a principle that sounds simple but takes a lifetime to fully understand.

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