Taido is a martial art which belongs to a group of Japanese systems collec- tively known as Budo. Other examples of Budo-systems are Judo, Karate- do, Aikido and Kendo. Taido was developed from Gensei-ryu-karate-do by the Okinawa-born master Seiken Shukumine, the founder of both systems. Taido is frequently called "The martial art of the 21. century". The system has resemblance to a form of acrobatic karate. Taido techniques is made up of body movements in con- nection with punches, kicks and an ocational throw. Taido contains a lot of motion and the Taido-ka (a person who trains Taido) often moves his body over a great distance by way of headrolls, cartwheels and high leaps. Taido differs from other martial arts both in the methods used for moving the body about and in the principles for developing power in attack and defence. The Taido techniques are designed to make use of a three-dimentional space which means that technique can be performed from the air downwards, from a standing position in a horizontal plane, or from the floor upwards. One of Taido's unique qualities is that there is no need for weightclasses in tournaments. The techniques work in a way which makes it possible for Taido-kas of very different size and strength to train together or compete against each other in tournaments.