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Old 06-09-2004, 09:38 AM   #26
Mark Balogh
Dojo: Mushinkan Dojo, Guildford
Location: Surrey, UK
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

I'm Aikikai, but Tohei's old book Aikido: Coordination of Mind and Body for Self Defence would be my choice.
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Old 06-09-2004, 10:15 AM   #27
Joe Hansson
Dojo: Björkstadens Aikidoklubb
Location: Umeå, Sweden
Join Date: May 2004
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

I'll say Total Aikido by Gozo Shioda sensei, but it won't be the only book i will ever own on aikido. There's alot to read. thankfully
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Old 06-09-2004, 11:49 AM   #28
aikidocapecod
Dojo: Shobu Aikido Cape Cod
Location: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

Don M Wrote

(Still pounding my head agains the KOTODAMA stuff, though. It doesn't help that Western scholars tend to savage the concept and its applications...)

Don, I do understand what you said. It is a tough book to get through. I go through it a few times a year.
Gleason Sensei is my Sensei. This is just my opinion....I think that perhaps it is not that Gleason Sensei has savaged the concept and its applications, rather, maybe we just do not know enough of the philosophy behind what he is saying. Again, please do not take that has one of the "jabs" some take at others here when expressing a contrary view.

When I get to class, Gleason Sensei will explain different areas of AIkido and use some of what is in his book. Then the clouds part a little.....I am a bit slow...so perhaps it will take more pounding into my thick skull to better understand his point.

I do not get to the dojo to practice as often as I should, but having studied under Gleason Sensei for a number of years, I find that he his very reluctant to express a view that he does not have a very good understanding of.

Anyway...to answer the question this thread asks,
Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere was my first book. I still go through it often. I find the drawing to be much more helpful than a series of still photos. My reason is that Westbrook &Ratti have wisely included many lines with arrows that can give an idea of the motions used to perform the technique. Sometimes with still photots shot in sequence, a crucial movement may be missed or not understood.

And, as always....this is just my opinion.....

Thanks...Larry
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Old 06-09-2004, 02:14 PM   #29
Don_Modesto
Dojo: Messores Sensei (Largo, Fl.)
Location: Florida
Join Date: Mar 2001
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

Quote:
Larry Murray wrote:
Don M Wrote

(Still pounding my head agains the KOTODAMA stuff, though. It doesn't help that Western scholars tend to savage the concept and its applications...)

....I think that perhaps it is not that Gleason Sensei has savaged the concept and its applications, rather, maybe we just do not know enough of the philosophy behind what he is saying.
Thanks for responding. I was particularly hoping you would, actually, having read that you're from his dojo.

I think we're missing each other here. I didn't say that Gleason savaged KOTODAMA but that Western scholars did. I'm thinking in particular of Peter Dale's The Myth of Japanese Uniqueness. He's merciless.

I think you're right about us not understanding enough of the philosophy behind what he says (and I feel he could have gone a little further in interpreting this for folks who don't have his grasp of the material).

You can't read too far into the literature on KOTODAMA before finding a connection with MANTRA ala Shingon ("True Word") Buddhism. I find most references purportedly explaining KOTODAMA impenetrable. But at least I can get an intellectual grasp of the concept if I know it's part of a meditation discipline.

I found SUSAN BLAKELEY KLEIN's contribution to the book Buddhas and Kami, "Wild words and syncretic deities" to be very useful to understanding the way the Japanese manipulated concepts. According to her, the Japanese interpret (ed) ideas very broadly based on word games, metaphors, puns, "allegorical etymology", and numerology. KOTODAMA is, beyond its immediate meditative usages, sort of a way to reconcile disparate terms through puns ("Aikido is the way of love" comes to mind, riffing off of two different Chinese characters having the same pronunciation). I think this kind of "reading out" of meaning in tune with an agenda is what Osensei meant when he said aikido is KOTODAMA, i.e., a way to find commonalities and reconcile differences.

Quote:
When I get to class, Gleason Sensei will explain different areas of AIkido and use some of what is in his book. Then the clouds part a little.....
Yes. I found this, too, at his Tallahassee seminar earlier this year.

Quote:
....having studied under Gleason Sensei for a number of years, I find that he his very reluctant to express a view that he does not have a very good understanding of.
I got that impression.

Thanks.

Don J. Modesto
St. Petersburg, Florida
------------------------
http://www.theaikidodojo.com/
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Old 06-10-2004, 08:05 AM   #30
jester
 
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

Quote:
Craig Hocker wrote:
The blue book.
"This is Aikido" by Koichi Tohei Sensei
The version printed from about 1968 to 1974.
I'd also pick this one. I got a copy from a Karate instructor that was giving away his book collection.

Plus it's now worth over $100.00
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Old 06-10-2004, 08:49 AM   #31
ian
 
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Dojo: University of Ulster, Coleriane
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

For intermediates: Total Aikido (Gozo Shioda)

For weapons: Saito: traditional Aikido Vol2 (out of print)

Any books for advanced? I found a book called something like 'Sword of no sword - the life of master Tesshu ' by John Stevens to be a very good book on approach to martial arts. Though not specifically aikido it cahnged the way I look at martial arts. (Basically Tesshu was a buddhist who gained enlightenment through sword work).

I think sadly most technique based books on aikido are a waste of time for improving training beyond beginners level; this includes dynamic sphere.

Although not necssarily that useful for learning technique, Budo (Ueshiba) has great photos and I'd probably choose that as my single book for historical and inspirational reasons.

Ian

Last edited by ian : 06-10-2004 at 08:52 AM.
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Old 06-11-2004, 06:38 PM   #32
crbateman
 
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Location: Orlando, FL
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Re: If you could only have one Aikido book ?

This is a loaded topic...

I've read about a hundred different books (still have a few to go), and I still can't say what's the best. I guess it depends what you're trying to learn. "Dynamic Sphere" is considered by many as the best technical manual, and it certainly has the best illustrations EVER, but it is ponderous to beginners, and the numbering system for techniques is obscure. But it is a pretty good book if you consider that it was the "first and only shot" for the authors, who then promptly disappeared into relative obscurity 30 years ago...

"Aikido Shugyo" is excellent, as well as "Aikido & the Harmony of Nature". Some are more technical, some more spiritual. I suppose that in order to write a book, one has to theme it this way or that. "Enlightenment Through Aikido" is a new book that I found very interesting. Kanshu Sunamadori Shihan, like many of the older masters, waited until very late in life to put his thoughts in print (at least in English), as did Shoji Nishio Shihan, whose new book "Yurusu Budo" is also a great look at the internal side of Aikido.

On the technical side, both of Saito Shihan's sets are very good, as is "Aikido" by Kisshomaru Doshu, "Aikido in Training" (Crane), and Shioda Shihan's "Total Aikido". Someone also mentioned Shifflett's "Aikido: Exercises for Teaching and Training", which was much better than I thought it would be. Many of the available books also give insights into the differences between the various styles of Aikido.

Anything by John Stevens is thought-provoking, from his perspective as a "gaijin" with a lifetime invested in study.

For a LOT of history in a small space, you have to get Stanley Pranin's "Aiki News Encyclopedia of Aikido", as well as his "Aikido Masters".

For humor, there is "Angry White Pyjamas" and "Fudebakudo". And there is Terry Dobson's "It's a Lot Like Dancing", which is inspirational as well as funny. Not your typical Aikido book...

I guess that the point I've been circling around like a vulture is: Why try to settle on just ONE book, when there are so many, and something to be learned from each? Focus is a great thing, taken in moderation, but true knowledge comes from experiencing a diverse group of perspectives. And remember, YOUR path is yours alone.
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