Ellis Amdur's "Hidden in Plain Sight" Prepublication Sale

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Posted 2009-06-17 12:07:14 by Jun Akiyama
News URL: http://www.edgework.info/buy.html

Ellis Amdur is offering pre-release sales of 250 signed and numbered volumes of his latest book on martial arts, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing The Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power." For more information, please visit the Edgework website (http://www.edgework.info/buy.html) and also read on below.

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[akiy]

From Ellis Amdur:

Announcing Prepublication Sales of Ellis Amdur's New Book, "Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power."

Ellis Amdur is offering pre-release sales of 250 signed and numbered volumes of his latest book on martial arts. Please go to http://www.edgework.info/buy.html. You can purchase copies of the book in advance ­ and they will be sent to you upon the completion of printing of the book. Note: Amdur will not be on-line until mid-July, so he will not be able to answer any questions regarding the book until then. Purchases of other books and DVD will also be sent at the same time. Please note that his other publications are sold at other locations: there are links on his website if you are in a hurry to purchase any of them. Hidden in Plain Sight, however, will only be sold at www.edgework.info (http://www.edgework.info) for the near future. The only means of using a credit card is through Paypal. Those who either find difficulty with the rather labyrinthine process, or otherwise prefer not to use a card, please send a check with a clear order to the address on the website.

Ellis Amdur's writing on martial arts has been groundbreaking. In his first book, Dueling with Osensei, Amdur threw down a gauntlet to practitioners, that the moral dimension of martial arts is in expressed in acts of integrity, not spiritual platitudes and deification of fantasized warrior-sages. In his second book, Old School, he applied both academic rigor and keen observation to offer the reader as close a look as words can provide to the some of the classical martial arts of Japan. leavening his writing with vivid descriptions of some of the actual practitioners of these wonderful traditions.

In this volume, Amdur has radically reworked his iconoclastic essays first published on the website of Aikido Journal. Here, he attempts to establish the existence of something all but lost in Japanese martial arts ­ a sophisticated type of training, encompassing mental imagery, breath-work, and a variety of physical techniques that offered the practitioner the potential to develop skills sometimes viewed as nearly superhuman. Commonly referred to as "internal training," and usually believed to be the provenance of Chinese martial arts, Amdur asserts that not only was it once common among many Japanese martial traditions, but elements of such training still remain, passed down in a few martial arts ­ literally "hidden in plain sight." As always, Amdur reminds us that this is a human endeavor and he provides vivid, even heartbreaking portrayals of some of the great practitioners of these skills, men who devoted their lives to an obsessive pursuit of power.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Contents

* Chapter 1 - The Chinese Connection
* Chapter 2 - The Birth of Daito-ryu
* Chapter 3 ­ A Unified Field Theory: Aiki and Weapons
* Chapter 4 - Aikido is Three Peaches
* Chapter 5 - Hidden in Plain Sight
* Chapter 6 - Circle, Square, Triangle: How to Be O-Sensei in Sixteen Easy Steps
* Epilogue

[Janet Rosen]

Cool! Have been waiting for this....

[Ron Tisdale]

OOOOoooo goodies....

I Know what I want for my birthday....Myriam!!!!!! :D

Good to see this out.

Best,
Ron

[akiy]

Congratulations, Ellis, on the (pre-)publication of your latest book.

I'm looking forward to reading it.

Best,

-- Jun

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Seconded.

(except for the "...Myriam!!! :D" part)

[MikeLogan]

I just tried to purchase a copy, and it seems the payment options are on the fritz. Just a heads up! I'll check this thread for updates.

michael.

(i particular, when I attempt a credit card purchase via the button, I am sent to the pay-pal route)

[Ron Tisdale]

Hey Michael, pay-pal is an excellent way in my experience to pay for stuff on the web. Just ignore the spammers that spoof the email address and put fake links in the text.

Best,
Ron

[Ron Tisdale]

Hey Demetrio, you never know, if you're real nice to me, maybe she'll buy you one too! :D

B,
R

[akiy]

(i particular, when I attempt a credit card purchase via the button, I am sent to the pay-pal route)
When you get to the PayPal page, you should see the following on the left:Don't have a PayPal account?
Use your credit card or bank account (where available). Continue
Try clicking on the "Continue" link there.

Hope that helps,

-- Jun

[Pat Togher]

Excellent!
Order placed.

Pat

[akiy]

When you get to the PayPal page, you should see the following on the left:Don't have a PayPal account?
Use your credit card or bank account (where available). Continue
Try clicking on the "Continue" link there.

I've attached a sample image of where that "Continue" link may be (from a different site) below.

As a side note, I am merely presenting this for information; I have no part in Ellis's site.

-- Jun

[Marc Abrams]

I'm not one to make an impulse purchase, but as soon as I saw that posting early this afternoon was as soon as I purchased my copy ! !!!!!

Marc Abrams

[aikidoc]

I cannot get into the site for payment. I keep getting clicked over to KIT.NET. I tried to get into paypal off their normal site with the same result.

[Janet Rosen]

I had no problem using Paypal and it was definitely legit.

[Ellis Amdur]

Folks - I'm sorry that I must use paypal. I simply cannot afford a regular credit card service, and quite honestly, if anyone has any ideas - (Google, whatever) - it would be prohibitively expensive to re-do my website.
For those of you for whom paypal fails - or you don't want to be "involved" -
Send me a handwritten or typed order and a check. My address is on my website and when I return in July, I'll open them up and send them with all the rest.
Best
Ellis

[eyrie]

I've been using PayPal for well over 9 years now... way back in the days before they were bought out by eBay. I've had no problem with receiving or sending payments and can vouch for their service. You can pay by credit card or check (US only) thru PayPal without having to sign up for a PayPal account.

[Keith Larman]

FWIW I put in my order today with no problem. Looking forward to it.

[Linda Eskin]

Woohoo! Just the excuse I needed to finally order the Ukemi DVD, too. :D

The payment process was a little round-about, but worked fine. (I paid with a credit card on the PayPal site.)

Looking forward to both the book and the DVD. Thank you!

Linda

[aikidoc]

I got it to work on another computer later.

[Nicholas Eschenbruch]

Ordered! Really excited now, cant wait...

[jss]

Is there a way to know if you're among the first 250?

[gnlj]

I am so excited. I loved the last book and looking forwrd to the next. Greetings from New Zealand.
Guy

[Ellis Amdur]

If we actually get close to 250, I'll make some kind of announcement.
Ellis

[crbateman]

Congrats to you, Ellis... My collection would not be complete without a copy of the book. Looking forward to reading and reviewing it.

[jss]

If we actually get close to 250, I'll make some kind of announcement.
What? Not every view of this thread results in an order?! :)

[Kevin Leavitt]

ordered one, thanks Ellis!

[Ellis Amdur]

I use Americart for my shopping cart - and there is a glitch in the program which is not registering multiple orders and miscalculating the postage. So I've stopped taking orders until this gets settled - hopefully in 24 hours. A couple people lucked out - cheaper postage charges - before I caught it. So, anyway, I'll post when things are running again BTW - their customer service is absolutely the worst I've ever experienced - I will be changing processing procedures, as soon as I can.

Ellis

[NAF]

I ordered one, hope it went thru.

[Ellis Amdur]

The site is working again - it's even easier to use than before the problem.

Ellis

[JO]

Just ordered mine. If its as well written as everything else I've read from Ellis, I know I won't be dissappointed.

[oisin bourke]

My two year old daughter just decided what to buy her Dad for father's day! It was that or a bottle of Yoichi single malt. Literature triumphed... this time.

Looking forward to being righteously outraged.

[L. Camejo]

Since that last seminar with Shishida on Aiki I'm very interested in what similarities or differences appear in Ellis' book.

Ordered. :D
LC

[MikeLogan]

Was offline for a bit. Signed up for paypal, but if I can order via credit card on the paypal website (without additional charge to E.A.) I will do so.

Thanks for the thumbnail, Jun. I used to do that sort of visual guide for co-workers/management when they kept having this sort of issue.

I will order tonight, and should grab that dvd on ukemi, too (good idea Linda!) :D

michael.

[Ellis Amdur]

Writing to update on the status of Hidden in Plain Sight as I've gotten a few inquiries regarding same.
1. The manuscript is in the hands of the printer. They must make a proof of both cover and layout to ensure that in the transfer from our disc to their printer, that the layout doesn't change, the the colors on the cover remain true, etc. IF all goes well, we send it back, they print and ship it. I will be receiving the books appr. one month from this date of July 16th.
2. So then I will begin shipping them, which entails signing, packing and conveying to the post office. Basically, I'll see how many orders I can process in three hour blocks each day. They'll be sent in the order of orders.
3. I am approaching the original goal of 250 prepublication sales - although they have certainly slowed down since the original announcement. Given the one month to wait, and the standing notice on this site, I am continuing prepublication sales for signed and numbered books. There will be an absolute cap of 500 numbered books. Books after 500 will be signed, without a number.
I want to thank everyone for their interest in my work.
Ellis Amdur

[rulemaker]

Hi Ellis,

I want to order the Duelling with O'Sensei book in addition to your new book. Can you sign the Duelling book also?

Thanks!

[Ellis Amdur]

Rommel - This wouldn't be the place for making arrangements on purchases. That should be in your order. So please make a note of it when you do order. (to those who are curious - I'm posting this publicly so respond to anyone else who has the same idea).

Best
Ellis Amdur

[SeiserL]

My order is in.
Enjoy learning from this man in person.
Looking forward to learning from him in print.

[DH]

For some perosnal reasons I was talking abut Ellis this weekend and this morning and it prompted me to write a little.

Isn't it funny that it is in the nature of so much of Ellis's writing (professionally and in Budo-his professional writing is just as interesting) that he continues to challenge people to look past the things that are capturing their attention.
He did it in Duelling With OSensei-which to this day has some very insightful views on Daito ryu and Aikido that I have never read elsewhere,
In Old School he challenged modern budoka to reconsider what they thought they knew about Koryu all while giving them a (a largely unappreciated in my opinion) rare glimpse into koryu teaching and its own struggle with dissemination in the modern era-which is timely considering the current threads on transmission and Shihans and the like.
Now in Hidden in Plain Sight we are challenged again to see past the modern art and to challenge its very core, Even to being challenged that the teachers -in large part- missed it, all while looking through or past them into the very nature of the asian arts. Into the tie that binds!
I was just thinking, or more accurately wondering, if he or anyone else sees the three books as a unified whole?
Cheers
Dan

[Demetrio Cereijo]

Writing to update on the status of Hidden in Plain Sight as I've gotten a few inquiries regarding same.
1. The manuscript is in the hands of the printer. They must make a proof of both cover and layout to ensure that in the transfer from our disc to their printer, that the layout doesn't change, the the colors on the cover remain true, etc. IF all goes well, we send it back, they print and ship it. I will be receiving the books appr. one month from this date of July 16th.
2. So then I will begin shipping them, which entails signing, packing and conveying to the post office. Basically, I'll see how many orders I can process in three hour blocks each day. They'll be sent in the order of orders.

I hope it arrives on time for my birthday.

[Janet Rosen]

I was just thinking, or more accurately wondering, if he or anyone else sees the three books as a unified whole?
Cheers
Dan
Unified whole, or even more so natural development of a good brain continuing to puzzle and research and puzzle and ponder....(kind of like watching Michael Pollan start writing about lawns/gardens, then human/plant manipulation of each other, to food chains and industrial food and eventually healthy eating and ag practices)

[Ron Tisdale]

Hi Dan, can anyone say "3 juicy peaches?" ;)

Best,
Ron

[aikilouis]

I was just thinking, or more accurately wondering, if he or anyone else sees the three books as a unified whole?
Cheers
Dan

Don't say that, he won't feel the need to write another !

[Ellis Amdur]

I have been getting a few inquiries a day which wonder where the book is. Prepublication = not in existence. I've gone over the proofs, and sent it back to the printer - approved. So here's what happens next:
1. They print it
2. They deliver it. - appr. August 20th.
3. I unload the truck (costs hundreds of dollars for them to do it, so the delivery guy sits and watches me do it.
4. I start signing, sealing and delivering (as Smokey Robinson would say).
5. I'm going to put in 3 hours a day sending the books out.
6. As I noted before, I will have an absolute cap of 500 on numbered books. I will, however, sign books that are pre-ordered, if the number goes beyond 500. (Sales are currently at appr. 380 as of today).

Dan - yeah, as we discussed - they did sort of naturally fall into a triad - morality/integrity - tradition - hidden knowledge/core skills
Pretty well sums up the interests in my life.

By the way, I was clearing out my storage area, to make room for the HIPS books, and I find I have approximately 250 apiece of Dueling with Osensei and Old School remaining. Sales have slowed down considerably. I am at a loss what I am going to do when I sell them out. I definitely will not do another print run. If I can find a publisher on demand that does decent enough quality (I haven't seen that yet), I may continue them that way. Or, perhaps add a few new chapters from stray essays and sell to a publisher. Or perhaps, not. It will depend, in part, if I can continue to get a return for my work. In any event, if anyone does want copies of these books while they definitely exist, now might be a good time to order.

[Janet Rosen]

Thank you for the update.

[Pat Togher]

Thanks for the update, Ellis.
Guess I beter get on the stick and order the other two books!

Pat

[Ellis Amdur]

Received the books today. I've started packaging and sending the pre-publication orders as fast as I can. I expect it is going to take up to 2 weeks to get all the orders out (hopefully faster) - just packed and sent 50 today.
Pre-publication sales are, of course, now closed (for the signed and numbered books) - but I am taking regular orders as they come in.
Best
Ellis Amdur

[Flintstone]

Good, good, goooooood!!

[Lan Powers]

Thanks....Looking forward to reading it.
Lan

[tarik]

Received the books today. I've started packaging and sending the pre-publication orders as fast as I can. I expect it is going to take up to 2 weeks to get all the orders out (hopefully faster) - just packed and sent 50 today.
Pre-publication sales are, of course, now closed (for the signed and numbered books) - but I am taking regular orders as they come in.
Best
Ellis Amdur

Thanks, Ellis. Looking forward to receiving my copy.

Regards,

[Michael Zartman]

Got my copy in the mail today. Looking forward to spending time learning from it. Thanks, Ellis.

[akiy]

Hi Ellis,

I picked mine up from the post office today. Thanks! I'm looking forward, as always, to reading your thoughts.

-- Jun

[Stormcrow34]

I just cracked open my #9 copy and I am looking forward to a great read. The cover artwork is very nice! Thanks Mr. Amdur.

[Janet Rosen]

Book arrived today and I managed to read preface/intro before dashing out the door to the dojo....I'd just finished my last book too (Sherman Alexie novel) so I am READY to sit down for a long and tasty read!

[Walter Martindale]

Well, Heck.. How can you order a pre-pub copy if you find out about the thing after it's been pub....
Go to the pub?
hic.
Just placed the order. My paypal seems to have worked. Wonder what the visa balance is getting to these days.... OMG!!!
Walter

[Cliff Judge]

Yay, lucky #21 just appeared in my mailbox last night!

Now I'll just finish up my re-read of _Old School_ and jump in before people start posting spoilers here.

[Pat Togher]

Hi Ellis,
My book arrived in yesterday's mail.
I'm about 100 pages into it, thanks to a bit less sleep last night and a long bus commute this morning. Thank you so much for this fascinating read! It's like a long drink of cool water - satisfying.

Pat

[Bob Blackburn]

I will be checking the mail. :)

[Walker]

Early standout material:
Ellis' humanization and explication of Takada's character is worth the cover price on it's own.

This August is a season of abundance in aiki publishing. I hope everyone is taking advantage.

[MM]

Early standout material:
Ellis' humanization and explication of Takada's character is worth the cover price on it's own.

This August is a season of abundance in aiki publishing. I hope everyone is taking advantage.

Yes. That was something I had not expected. And it made me wonder what Ellis would surmise if taking into account Rob Liberti's recent posts about how his working on aiki has changed his demeanor. Can't recall the exact post or words. Interesting, though, if that kind of thing also contributed to Takeda's personality in the long run.

[jss]

Does anyone know how to speed up intercontinental mail? :cool:

[NAF]

I arrived home late last night after going to see the Yankees play to a package in the mail containing the book.. Though I planned on sleeping, I opened it up and spent an hour reading parts of the book and began it in earnest on my train ride to Manhattan this am. I really liked Ellis' attitude and thoughts in the How to be O'Sensei in 16 easy steps chapter. I know that reading a lot of the internal threads on this site, Ellis' writings has inspired me to look into Bagua with Tom Bisio and Xing Yi Nei Gong work in the future. As Ellis surmises and as O'Sensei said to Terry Dobson, figure it out yourself. Or as Ben Hogan said about the secret of golf, the answer is in the dirt. I know that is what Tiger Woods would say as well.

[Flintstone]

Does anyone know how to speed up intercontinental mail? :cool:
+1

[Pat Togher]

OK, through my first quick read. I'm re-reading to pick up more of the detail/subtleties.

This is just such a great read. I'll have to pick up Ellis' other books to complete the set.

Pat

[Ellis Amdur]

I am happy to answer questions that people have regarding the book. I will start a new thread to that end (will have to figure out what section to put it in;)

So let's close this thread - and move on over - - - somewhere . . . .I'll figure it out.

Best
Ellis Amdur