[citation needed] He actively practised Judo, despite Jigoro Kano's advanced age and declining health.

From 1936 or 1937 till the end of the Second World War, under orders of General Hideki Tojo, Tomiki lived in Manchukuo (Manchuria) where he taught aikibudo (an early name for aikido) to the Kempeitai of the Kwantung Army.

[citation needed] Tomiki is perhaps best known in the judo world for his influence in the developing of Kodokan Goshin Jutsu kata.

[2] After becoming a professor, Tomiki formulated and expanded his theories concerning both kata based training methods and a particular form of free-style fighting which would put him at odds with much, but not all, of the aikido world.

[7] It was this action on the part of Tomiki of attempting to convert aikido into a sport that led to a schism with the founder Morihei Ueshiba and the Aikikai.

Tomiki was urged by the Aikikai to adopt a different name for his art other than "aikido" if he intended to introduce such a system of competition.

Convinced of the need to modernize aikido, he stood his ground and persisted in his efforts to evolve a viable form of competition.

[11] In 1967, Tomiki opened his Shodokan honbu Dojo which he used as a testing ground for his theories on aikido and competition.

[2][26] Tomiki followed Ueshiba as the Aikido division head of the Kokusai Budoin-International Martial Arts Federation (IMAF Japan).

Then, in 1974, he founded the Japan Aikido Association (JAA)[28] from an earlier organization of the same name to promote his theories.

Tomiki set up a new dojo for the Shodokan in Osaka on March 28, 1976, with the support of Masaharu Uchiyama, Vice-chairman of the J.A.A.

This dojo was intended to function as the headquarters of the Japan Aikido Association and Tomiki served as its first director.