Customer Reviews

The Art of Aikido: Principles and Essential Techniques

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Aikido is not a usual martial art. Created during one of the darkest times in Japan's history, in the aftermath following defeat in WWII, Aikido was presented to the shattered nation by its founder Morihei Ueshiba as a method to gain self-reliance and confidence. Rather than combat, Aikido is an art of training the spirit, the ki.

Morihei's son, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, inherited the school of Aikido and decided to enlarge his father's vision to bring Aikido to everyone. With this in mind, he wrote "The Art of Aikido: Principles and Essential Techniques," a manual to the spiritual discipline and philosophy of Aikido, including an introduction to the core techniques.

The book is in three section, Aikido Philosophy, The Essence of Aikido and Aikido Techniques. Philosophy covers the founder's ideas, the necessity of Ki and Tagatane ("Hand Sword"). In the next section, Aikido is compared to Judo, and described as a swordsman's art, rather than a system of grappling. Finally, the actual stances and moves are outlined, with beautiful and useful pictures detailing the actions.

Anyone considering Aikido would find this book a treasure, as they would be able to approach their new art with a core understanding of its philosophy and intentions. Continuing Akidokas would be interested to read the thoughts and ideals of the founder, as passed down through his son.

Written by the late Aikido Doshu master Kisshmaru Ueshiba, The Art Of Aikido: Principles And Essential Techniques is an ideal introduction and a superbly presented instruction guide to the martial art of Aikido. Written by the son of Aikido's founder, who translated the concepts of Aikido that his father presented in an esoteric language and simplified the philosophy and practices so that any trainee could engage in this martial art, The Art Of Aikido combines solid instructional text with black-and-white photographs illustrating movements and combinations step by step. A core, seminal reference and a "must-have" for any student or practitioner of Aikido.

Started Aikido training about 2 years ago and wanted to know more about the origions of Aikido and why the movements are done the way they are. Besides the words,the photos help to explain also. Very good book to add to my library.

This isn't the best book for learning techniques, for that I recommend Moriteru Ueshiba's excellent books, but this has some insightful chapters about Aikido philosophy and ideas. It is also good for photographs of the second doshu in action, with some interesting overhead shots. Good for any aikidoka bookshelf but not an essential for beginners.

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This is a very good product, especially for the Aikikai stylist. More than just a collection of technical information, the book delves into the history and philosophy of Aikido, from one of the most credible standpoints in print.

I was very disappointed with this book. As someone who has taken Japanese Aikido for years it was the photos that were the downfall and made the book useless. You can't tell who is fighting who or the steps that are being used to teach the techinque. I have several books on Aikido but this would be as useful as a square dancing book if you could tell who was who.
I'm sorry to give a bad report but I hope this helps others.