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Old 02-10-2011, 10:43 AM   #1
George S. Ledyard
 
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Dojo: Aikido Eastside
Location: Bellevue, WA
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 2,670
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Book by Tom Read Sensei

Aikido Aikibojitsu and the Structure of Natural Law

First, let me say that this is a work of genius. Just about every page has content that causes me to stop and ponder. If you are the kind of person who revels in works like the Dancing Wuli Masters or the Tao of Physics, works for laymen on the nature of the universe,then this book will be for you.

Read Sensei moves seamlessly from physics and mathematics to the spiritual and technical implications of these principles to martial arts and Aikido specifically. So often, spirituality and rationality are seen as in opposition. People generally are more comfortable with one than the other, as in Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in which he juxtaposes the "rational / scientific" worldview against the "groovy" world view. As in Pirsig's work, this book endeavors to show that there is no separation between the rational and the spiritual.

That said, if you are firmly in one camp or the other, you will probably not deal with his book well. It requires that you go back and forth, sometimes with no warning. It requires that you have a flexibility of mind that allows for really big stretches in your thinking. The folks who think Aikido is just about throwing an enemy on the ground will hate it. The folks who think Aikido is the art of being nice to each other will hate it. If you don't want to seriously exercise that muscle between your ears, do not buy this book, you won't make it through the first chapter.

But if you are looking for something REALLY profound, clearly based on insight developed through decades of personal practice and direct experience, then this is one of those books that you'll read now, read again later, and still be reading twenty years from now as your understanding of your Aikido deepens. It is an amazing book. Not easy, but really amazing.

The Book

George S. Ledyard
Aikido Eastside
Bellevue, WA
Aikido Eastside
AikidoDvds.Com
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