Principles of Aikido [Paperback]

Mitsugi Saotome (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 1989

Mitsugi Saotome—a principal student of Morihei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido—explains the philosophy and practice of the popular martial art, which emphasizes harmony and peaceful resolution of conflict. Over one thousand photographs illustrate the basic principles and techniques, including the use if the wooden sword, the wooden staff, and "empty hand" techniques. The reader is given guidance in the proper physical, mental, and spiritual attitudes with which to approach this practice and in ways to apply the wisdom of Aikido to everyday life. Also included are lectures by the founder himself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With the able assistance of editor Irene Wellington, Saotome has developed a series of clear and useful essays on how the traditional skills and habits of mind developed by the martial ways can be put to positive uses. . . . Saotome teases new meaning out of ossified terminology—or more to the point, restores original meaning to crusted-over concepts. And it is in such sections that the inherently fluid nature of thought rooted in the ideogram is most clearly conveyed."— In These Times

Language Notes

Text: English, Japanese (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1 edition (July 22, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877734097
• ISBN-13: 978-0877734093
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.6 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but most suited for the experienced Aikidoka, November 2, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Aikido (Paperback)

This book is a sparse collection of short essays and photo series of demonstrations of Aikido techniques. For those unfamiliar with Aikido, and looking for an introductory text, I would recommend looking elsewhere. For experienced Aikidoka looking for new thoughts on familiar concepts, I highly recommend it.

The photographs of demonstrations of techniques are difficult to relate to real-life motion unless you are already familiar with the techniques and Aikido training. To put it another way, you can't imagine the flowing grace, unless you have seen it before.

The text is thoughtful, yet concise. It took me two readings before I really appreciated the value of this book. As it is, I re-read it about every six months, and usually find some new insight. The great value of this book over the many other excellent Aikido books is its brevity. After any training session, I can re-read an applicable chapter in about twenty minutes, and still learn something.

This book has been, thus far, the most useful reference and training manual I have found. The video series of the same name is an invaluable supplement, but this book has elucidated for me many of the core concepts of Aikido.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs on any Aikido Bookshelf, January 28, 2000

By 

Saket Kulkarni (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Aikido (Paperback)

As the title states, this book is about the "Principles of Aikido". Saotome Sensei concisely yet clearly explains his personal view on the philosophy of Aikido and his insights into its spiritual nature. His account is insightful and yet very down to earth.

Saotome Sensei takes his time to introduce the reader to the correct mentality of executing technique before introducing the techniques themselves. He has cleverly grouped the various armed and unarmed techniques by the principles they demonstrate, thus showing the reader the common thread between a variety of techniques and situations.

This book will probably not be helpful to the beginning Aikido student, although the introductory sections give an excellent account of what Aikido is and what its philosophy and aims are. "The Principles of Aikido" is a must-read for Aikido practitioners who have two or more years experience behind them and is a veritable treasure-trove of insights. I have re-read it many times and each reading has, and continues to, cast a new and refreshing light on my training.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Belongs on any Aikido Bookshelf, January 28, 2000

By 

Saket Kulkarni (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Aikido (Paperback)

As the title states, this book is about the "Principles of Aikido". Saotome Sensei concisely yet clearly explains his personal view on the philosophy of Aikido and his insights into its spiritual nature. His account is insightful and yet very down to earth.

Saotome Sensei takes his time to introduce the reader to the correct mentality of executing technique before introducing the techniques themselves. He has cleverly grouped the various armed and unarmed techniques by the principles they demonstrate, thus showing the reader the common thread between a variety of techniques and situations.

This book will probably not be helpful to the beginning Aikido student, although the introductory sections give an excellent account of what Aikido is and what its philosophy and aims are. "The Principles of Aikido" is a must-read for Aikido practitioners who have two or more years experience behind them and is a veritable treasure-trove of insights. I have re-read it many times and each reading has, and continues to, cast a new and refreshing light on my training.