Spirit of Aikido

Product Description

Aiki is the power of harmony, of all beings, all things working together.
Aikido-a modern Japanese martial art unique in its synthesis of classic forms with a well-defined spiritual base-offers a key to the art of living naturally and unselfishly in a complicated world. This book explains it in reference to the founder's philosophy of mind-and action. In addition, the history of aikido's prewar development as a non-competitive new martial art is described, with a consideration of its international role.
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #234269 in Books
* Published on: 1988-03-15
* Original language: Japanese
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 128 pages

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes
Text: English, Japanese (translation)

About the Author

KISSHOMARU UESHIBA: the second Aikido Doshu (the person who embodies the spirit of Aikido as inherited from the founder and is the living symbol of Aikido). He was born in 1921, the third son of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. He graduated from Waseda University in 1946, became master of the Aikido World Headquarters in 1948, and in 1967 was named chairman of the Aikikai Foundation, the principal Aikido organization in Japan and overseas. His formal appointment as successor to his father took place in 1969. He died in 1999.
Customer Reviews

A very good overview of the art, the history, the way and the man4
The Spirit of Aikido is the primer for anyone wanting to understand or consider this art. Aikdio is the power of harmony; of all beings; all things working together. Martial arts is like religion; there are debates and arguments, philosophical differences and utter blaspheme. This thoughtful art form certainly invites discussion and study.

Aikdo has at it core, the concept of doing no harm to your opponent. Personnaly, I think this concept seems to fall short when you consider what you might do if confronted with a gang of attackers intent on clubbing, stabbing or kicking you to death.

It's fine to throw one attacker and then another and cause them no permanent harm, but after about the fifth attacker, when the first guy gets back up to come at you again I have to think that it might be good to have a few techniques in your back pocket that might cause some lasting damage so that he won't be coming back for seconds.

The techniques depicted in the many photo sequences are valuable and insightful. I have great respect for this art and many of these techniques should be part of a well-rounded martial artist's arsenal, but you might still want some more lethal things in your bag of tricks.

Still a valuable book and a good read.

Kevin Brett
CEO, Kevin Brett Studios, Inc.
Author: The Way of the Martial Artist: Achieving Success in Martial Arts and in Life!

The Way of the Martial Artist: Achieving Success in Martial Arts and in Life!

Inspirational, informative, maybe even instructional5
This book describes the spiritual basis and spiritual history of Aikido. It is not a book about physical technique and it does not really discuss the physical or mechanical reasoning behind Aikido techniques. It is a thin book and a quick read. That's a good thing because it will probably be re-read every year or two.

There is some discussion of the development of the art and it's different phases while under development. The discussion concentrates on the Founder's quest and teachings but not so much on what martial arts he studied and when he studied them.

It does discuss spiritual concepts and it relates certain techniques and entries to those concepts. Most notably, Kisshomaru Ueshiba discusses aspects of harmonizing mind and body with each other and the universe such that ki flows. From that center he discusses the popularity of Aikido and why it appeals to such a wide range of practitioners. This is contrasted to other more competitive arts in which the strongest rise to the top whereas in Aikido the most ... joyful? ... stand out.

What I found enlightening is that the words in the book gave meaning to some of the things that more advanced practitioners have said to me. Things about breath and reaction times and blending and relaxing. Things that bear directly on applying the techniques as well as understanding the spirit or ki underlying all the techniques.

Most of all, while reading this book I came to realize that I don't spend enough time in the dojo.

Interpretations from the closest one4
An excellent book from the founders son descriping the essence in Aikido. Great examples from his experience growing up being around the key persons in Aikido.