Customer Reviews

Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you wish to learn the art of Aikido and could only have one book; this would be it. It is effectively illustrated, better than photos. From history and theory, dojo etiquette and fundamental techniques of defense...all is covered. This book will give you broad overview of the mental and spiritual underpinnings of Aikido as a whole. Must have this book in every library.

Ever since age, 5; I've been an absolutely avid collector of martial arts books; believe me, I've collected tons; honestly, this one is 'THE BEST!' I brought this book when I was aged, 14/I'm now aged, 36. I go back and refer to this book, at least, once, for every single fortnight of my entire life! The book introduced me to the art of Aikido; it is, truly, the Aikido bible! Explaining Aikido on every possible level, techniques/history/philosophy. It, immediately, got me hooked on Aikido, forevermore. I used the think all martial arts were like beat em up/but, this book taught me, otherwise/martial arts is not about offence/but, self-defence, phsyical skill based on clear scientific principles/ furthermore, wisdom, deep spirituality; and, finally, enlightenment. I no longer want to beat up people; instead, I now wish only to save them!

Last month I started aikido lessons at age 30, with no previous martial arts experience whatsoever. I chose aikido because of its pacifist nature, which I learned about, albeit superficially, while doing a little bit of internet research. It didn't hurt that the dojo was in walking distance from my apartment. When I stepped into my first class, though, I felt like I was drowning, figuratively. The senior students were throwing around Japanese phrases left and right, and I was embarrassingly ignorant about the rituals. And there are lots of rituals. Believe me. I decided after my first class that I needed a book that would 1) explain the basics of each exercise, 2) have a glossary of Japanese terms used in aikido, and, most importantly, 3) describe the rituals in a typical aikido class and what they're all about. This book has all these things. It turned out to be an ideal supplement to what I'm learning in class. The only thing that prevents me from giving this book five stars, however, is that the, um, excessive style of writing is irritating at points. An example: "The practice then is the way along which a man can proceed from the basic, utilitarian consideration of learning an efficient means of self-defense which will follow certain ethical guidelines, to the 'high country' where the art becomes a Discipline of Coordination [sic] aimed at the harmonizing of opposites or alternates- not an art bent on or resulting in destruction, individual or wholesale." Quickly, someone, take away that man's thesaurus...

Though I am not an Aikido practicioner I have been involved in Martial Arts for most of my life and most of the instructional books available simply do not convey the necessary information in any usable way. Ratti and Westbrook took the time to make this as thorough as posible and it is the finest instructional manual for any Martial Art that I have ever seen. However, like all books, videos etc. I only reccomend this material to someone with a strong Martial Arts background.

This is perhaps best book for bringing the beginner up to speed when practicing Aikido. The many excellent illustrations make for particularly easy understanding of the movements that make up Aikido. This is an important book to have on hand in order to lessen the frustration of early practice and serves to answer some of the questions that the student may have, but may not be able to ask his or her teacher. This book sets itself apart from other works on Aikido in its approach to the philosophical side of Aikido. The western analytical approach is not ignored, and neither is the eastern/oriental. The authors have produced a synergy that makes sense from both an ancient martial arts tradition perspective and the perspective of the American or European student. Key concepts are appropriately highlighted throughout, and there is ample material for advanced practice. The fine illustrations make this an art book of the highest quality. This is a marvelously well rounded book and is highly recommended for both beginners and not-so beginning beginners.

WestBrook and Ratti cover all throws taught in Aikido up to black belt level. There are full walkthroughs of all projections and immobilizations in the book, and modifications to them. There is also a section on the jo - short staff - that includes a kata for you to practice. Unlike other books, Westbrook and Ratti cover smaller, but some of the more important, aspects of aikido, including start positions (kneeling, crouched, standing, etc.), etiquitte, hand-to-weapons defense, history, ki development, ki usage, philosophy, and so much more. I have been in martial arts for well over a decade, and this is by far the finest literature on aikido I have ever seen. Complete with pictures, walkthroughs, philosophy and the like, Aidkido and the Dynamic Sphere is on par with "Secrets of the Samurai" (same authors). Both are absolutely fantastic and comprehensive.

As an Aikido "newbie", who joined and left various Aikido Dojos for a few good years now ... I found this book to be an EXCELLENT source about Aikido. It covers EVERYTHING new students would want to know, plus ALMOST everything a veteran would like to know (Aikido, after all, has a LOT of variations and moves..). It covers the philosophy of Aikido, the History of Aikido, the etiquette of Aikido, and of course, the Art itself. The whole book is full with -lovely- illustrations that are great to look at, especially at all the techniques covered in this book.

Anyhow, I've done some research before purchasing this book, and I firmly believe this is one of the greatest, if not the best, books you can read about Aikido.

A lot of good things have been said about this book by many others, and I basically agree with them. So, I'm not going to repeat any of them here. However, the one thing that I don't like about this book is that, instead of using the common terminology used by aikidoka around the world, the authors use algebraic terms like "attack #1" neutralised by "immobilization #2". Why can't they just use the proper terms such as "shomen-uchi" and "nikyo"? Give me a break. This is like calling "slamdunk" a "scoring technique #5".

There's not really much I can add to the many highly favorable reviews already given on this book, it is quite simply the best book on Aikido ever written. Besides the excellent drawings illustrating the various techniques and warm-up exercises, it also has the most well-written description of the philosophy and theory of Aikido I've ever read. The only thing missing is that the japanese terms for the techniques that are taught in the dojo are missing, making it a little difficult for beginners to match the techniques in the book with what they are taught. (For those experiencing this problem I recommend the book: Aikido Exercises for Teaching and Training, by C.M. Shifflett ISBN 155643314X which gives the japanese terms and tells you the exact page which they may be found in Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere book). In over 30 years no Aikido book has yet to match this one, a definite must-have for anyone interested in the art.

This book would get five stars if only for the terrific illustrations. I've looked at a lot of martial arts books over the years, being an instructor myself, and this one is a stand-out for the clear and easy to understand illustrations. The main projections and their applications are shown, along with their variations. This is one book where the line drawings are easier to follow and understand than a photo sequence would be. The illustrator (I think that was O. Ratti) is to be commended for the great job he did on this.

The only other book I've seen like this was a little book published 30 years ago, "Self-Defense Simplified in Pictures," by Donald Hepler. This book is now long out of print but had similarly effective line drawings.