Customer Reviews

Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts: Aikido and Weapons Training Vol.2 (Aikido & Weapons Training)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First I would like to say that this book is not for the beginner. The beginning history would be benneficial for all. History is followed over the 1st 100 pages. But the majority of the book is directed mainly toward the art of Aikido and Chin Na. There are many photographs in the book (some other angles would have been most helpful), but the written explanations are fantastic. An overlooked treasure. A must for all those that study Aikido and Chin Na.

Although this is still a terrific book for anyone with an interest in comparitive martial arts study, I didn't feel this volume was as thorough as the first in actually comparing Chinese Martial arts versus Aikido (Takemusu style). The second in a planned three part series on the Comparative study of Chinese martial arts and Aikido, this book includes sections on Aikido sword and jo (a staff about 36-50 inches in length), and Chinese sword methods. A paperback volume, the volume I own was printed on quality acid-resistant paper. I noticed an improvement in the quality of the pictures in this volume from those in the first.

Author Sugawara clearly states in the introduction that the theme of this volume is to introduce the reader to the "how to's" of weapons training in both styles, so perhaps volume three of this series will cover what I felt was missing. As per the statements of the author, this volume DOES give decent coverage to the weapons methods of both Aikido and Chinese Martial practice. Both Tetsutaka Sugawara and Lu-jian Xing are versed in Aikido and Chinese martial arts (each has extensively studied BOTH), and therefore have a good grasp on the methods and philosophies of both arts. This has probably helped this series avoid any competitive air between these martial arts, where one might try to "prove" that one method is any better or worse than the other. This is the first book that has broached the subject of Chinese sword and Aikido Sword in the same volume--I look forward to the third volume in this series.

This book has a lot of forms in aikido in case you want to learn them, it has some techniques from the chinese external. However, the whole book seems rather disorganized. I think the writer and his support could ve done a much better job, considering that the topic is very interesting for exploration.