Customer Reviews

It's a Lot Like Dancing: An Aikido Journey

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had seen this title around for years & avoided buying it because it looked a bit too "touchy-feely". I also assumed that it contained the redundant, & often abstract, philosophy found in many books & articles on Aikido these days. I am so glad that I gave it a chance, beacause this is truly one of the great martial arts books of our time.

Terry Dobson's stories and statements are interesting, insightful, intelligent, amusing, and MEANINGFUL. The book conveys some sophisticated ideas in autobigographical stories that the reader immediately relates to. Then it reminds us that some of the best & most insightful ideas are really the simplest. The philosophical quotes from the founder of Aikido that begin each chapter are amazingly appropriate given the very "down to earth" nature of the stories, and the fact that most of the book was assembled by an editor who combined Dobson's stories after his death - ie. they were probably not designed to fit nicely under a particular quote.

The text combines with the great photos to create an incredible reading experience. Anyone interested getting more out of the martial arts than physical technique should read this book.

The book is about life, truth, and the contradictions in both. All this & you can probably read it in about an hour !

This book does a wonderful job of capturing the comprehensive impact that the practice of Aikido can have on your whole life. The black and white photography seems to twirl off the page with breath taking beauty.

I've been practicing Aikido for two years now and this is the best book I've ever read, not only about Aikido, but just in general. One of the good things about Aikido is that it has a deep philosophical library available to those who are interested. A lot of the books written by the founder of the art himself (Morihei Ueshiba) and his close disciples are great, but to westerners, can be a little hard to grasp. Terry Dobson lived and trained directly under the founder for nine years. The difference between his book and the others is that he talked about the founder as just another person rather than a god-like entity like the others often do. He is one of the best story-tellers I've known of and he lets loose in this book. You truly get caught up in his stories. I hated getting finished with this book. I have read it several times and am sure I'll read it several more times. I've let many people who don't train in Aikido at all read this book and they enjoy it as well. Definately a must-buy.

I spent an enjoyable evening with Terry's words and the accompanying pictures. I'd hesitate to call it a book about aikido. I'd call it a memoir by an aikidoka.

The vignettes that are presented are well-done, and a number gave me pause to reflect on them.

The photography used a too-slow shutter speed for my taste, most of the time. It conveyed the motion that is essential to aikido, but it often resulted in being just a blur on the page.

This book is a collection of anecdotes by and about Terry Dobson Sensei, a colorful and unorthodox early student of Aikido in Japan. It is an earthy look at the irreverent, yet dedicated way that this man incorporated aiki principles and teachings into his life, and the influence his interpretations had on the lives of his students. This book is a must if you want to explore Aikido "beyond the mat".

It is amazing how brilliantly the photographs have been matched with the stories. The photographs are mesmerizing, the stories compelling. This would be a wonderful addition to any library.

A great book for the general public and Aikidoka. The photos and quotes convey the feeling of doing Aikido.

This book is exactly what it purports to be: a "picture" book. The pictures, in this case, are those of people in action and, while it's hard to capture the idea of movement in still photographs, this book probably does it as well as could be done. For Aikidoists and others interested in the more "artsy" side of martial arts, this is an excellent place to start.

I recieved this book and in a few hours had devoured its contents. It's A Lot Like Dancing is not a book on Aikido techniques and does not teach techiques. What it does is give you insight into the attitude and depth of the art known as Aikido. I am glad to have gotten this book it has filled in some gaps of my knowledge of the Art of Aikido and how to proceed from here. Aikido is based on love and centeredness, that message is but a few Terry Dobson has taught the many who were privy to his siminars and classes. I wished I would have had the opportunity to meet Terry Dobson.

The images were mildly interesting but the photography was only average. The best image was the one on the cover, which does convey the dynamics of the spherical movements. The written content was slight. It was worth one look and then went onto the shelf. I doubt I will open it again. I'm still looking for something that captures the remarkable grace of this powerful form of self-defense.