Aikido in Everyday Life


Book Description

Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of living. The late renowned aikido master Terry Dobson, together with Victor Miller, present aikido as a basis for conflict resolution. "Attack-tics" is a system of conflict resolution based on the principles of aikido, the non-violent martial art Morihei Ueshiba created after World War II. Not all conflicts are contests, say Dobson and Miller, and not all conflicts are equally threatening.




A LIFE IN AIKIDO:The Biography of Founder Morihei Ueshiba


Book Description

Throughout his extraordinary life, Morihei Ueshiba mastered an array of martial arts and techniques, including jujutsu and kendo, and endlessly devoted himself to the philosophies of Japan's martial schools. This biography details the life of this remarkable man, from his early years as a youth in the turbulent Meiji era to his death in 1969. The history of Japan's martial traditions is replete with many outstanding individuals, but few ever attained the legendary status of Morihei Ueshiba. Throughout his extraordinary life, he mastered an array of martial arts and techniques, including




The Way of Aikido


Book Description

“This book is a warmhearted handshake, a graceful and practical invitation to enter and blend with the ahhh of the world. It is as natural and wise an introduction to the spirit of the martial arts as you can find on paper.”—Jack Kornfield, bestselling author of A Path with Heart In his bestselling Mastery, renowned spiritual and martial arts teacher George Leonard taught hundreds of thousands of people how to use Zen philosophy to reach mastery in any field. Now, he brings together his extraordinary knowledge and experience into a book that translates the principles of aikido directly into our everyday lives. Aikido is more philosophy and meditation than a technique or a series of purely physical maneuvers. Leonard shares the secrets of this remarkable Eastern philosophy, which is the basis for the most radical and demanding of all martial arts. Through mind-body exercises inspired by aikido yet designed for non-practitioners, he demonstrates the fundamental understanding behind aikido and shows how it can be applied to help set us on the path to composure, self-sufficiency, and spiritual centeredness. Combining illuminating personal anecdotes with practical advice, this award-winning author describes the ways in which aikido can help turn life’s unanticipated blows into gifts and transform discord into harmony, anxiety and pain into vital energy. Exhilarating, enlightening, and filled with unique wisdom, The Way of Aikido is an inspiring lesson in balance, confidence, and power. “The Way of Aikido does no less than open the door to the universe and invite you through to become one with it, to become balanced, powerful, energetic, alert, and present.”—Susan Trott, author of The Holy Man and Crane Spreads Wings




Journey to the Heart of Aikido


Book Description

Journey to the Heart of Aikido presents the teachings of Motomichi Anno Sensei, one of the few remaining direct students of Morihei Ueshiba, the legendary founder of Aikido. After a lifetime of practice and teaching in Japan, the United States, and Europe, Anno Sensei conveys through his teachings Aikido's essential spirit of love, harmony, gratitude, and purification with simple authenticity and eloquence. Author and translator Linda Holiday--herself a senior instructor of Aikido--brings to life the intimacy of this communication through translated discourses on the deep practice of Aikido and candid dialogues between Anno sensei and Western students. Journey to the Heart of Aikido includes Linda Holiday's vivid account of her adventure as a young woman studying Aikido in the mystical region of Kumano, Japan, in the 1970s, and a poignant telling of Anno sensei's life and his first-hand experience of training with Aikido's founder. An essential resource for the global Aikido community, Journey to the Heart of Aikido also offers spiritual teachings relevant to all contemporary seekers, touching a wide range of themes such as the meaning of martial arts, the integration of body and spirit, the truth of interconnectedness, and the practice of peace, offering all readers insight into the profound spiritual questions at the heart of life.




Book of Ki


Book Description

From the Back Cover: Everyone should realize the natural abilities we all have that enable us to pass successfully through this life. Unfortunately there are too many people who continue aimlessly along, overshadowed psychologically and physically because they are not aware of their own abilities. Such people are a great minus from their own viewpoint and from the viewpoint of society as well. The principles of ki lie in bringing to light man's natural strength and his hidden natural abilities. The author's earlier works, in which he introduced the principles of ki and aikido with mind and body coordinated, met with great response in many countries and created a demand for a still more detailed explanation of what ki really means. The present work is an answer to that demand. In the first section, while delving deeply into the principles of ki, the author gives a number of practical examples which anyone can easily follow. These examples are straight to that point, concrete and avoid abstractions such as how much power is there in spirit and the nature of feeling. The author's point is to have the reader learn the proper method of mastering the spirit and to have the spirit pervade the reader's body so that he will be able to grasp the basic meaning of ki. In part two of the book, the author gives detailed and concrete examples of how to apply the principles of ki to our daily lives. The author wishes that not only those who are in positions of leadership but also those who have physical or spiritual problems, or who do not fully realize their own abilities and strength, will learn the full meaning of ki. He also wishes that those who have learned the principles of ki will instill them in their hearts and help those around them walk a brighter and happier path.




Aikido Sketch Diary


Book Description

In Aikido Sketch Diary: Dojo 365 Days, Gaku Homma introduces his readers to the annual round of events at the Nippon Kan dojo, where the new member has the opportunity to practice in daily activities the spirit of Aikido "beyond the mat." The section on uchideshi training describes goals and difficulties that lie along the path of any discipline. This book illustrates the basic Aikido belief that students learn and progress only by doing things for themselves.




Dance with Heaven & Earth


Book Description

The texts in this book are inspired by the teachings of Katsuyuki Shimamoto, 8th dan, who has been a Zen priest and aikido teacher for 50 years. the title is taken from a poem that frequently graces his calligraphies: Harmonize with others Harmonize with Heaven and Earth Dance with others Dance with Heaven and Earth Humble and congenial, Katsuyuki Shimamoto is a perpetrator of aikido as a martial art of peace that seeks to create harmony. Influenced strongly by Zen, he emphasizes good posture, calm breathing, universal acceptance, simplicity, and minimalist aesthetics. These short pieces of wisdom taken from aikido and Zen help us understand that living with others is what allows us to live at all. That the right form - including posture, field of vision, and breathing - can change not only our outlook but the outcome, too. That we can neutralize any attack once we learn to accept it. That true victory is to win against our weaknesses, and fighting only serves as a stepping stone towards harmony. That with the right approach, the very life we struggle with can turn into the greatest treasure. Photographer and designer Morteza Ariana has not only given the book a beautiful look but also contributed significantly to conveying its message by adding a visual component to its expression. His breathtaking original photographs resonate with Katsuyuki Shimamoto's sense for Zen aesthetics and clarity of communication. Every text is juxtaposed with one of these images, adding another dimension to its meaning, and often alluding to the contradictory nature of Zen teachings intended to help practitioners overcome the boundaries of reason. Get ready for a book that takes you straight to the heart of the matter. Dance with Heaven & Earth!




Aikido and Words of Power


Book Description

For the first time in English, the secrets of the sacred sounds that unlock the principles and spiritual strength of aikido • Explains the nature of the five vowels that govern the physical manifestations of universal consciousness • Uses more than 300 photographs to demonstrate a unique approach to aikido techniques that supports advanced spiritual practice • Author is a 6th dan aikido instructor Aikido founder Ueshiba Morihei described the discipline as one spirit, four souls, three origins, and eight powers. One spirit and four souls are the five vowel dimensions of infinite space, the source of the sacred sounds of Kototama. Now, for the first time in English, William Gleason explains how to use the sounds of Kototama in the practice of aikido. Aikido is often approached as a purely physical discipline, but it is a truly profound spiritual vehicle for those who approach it with sincerity of purpose. The five vowels represent various dimensions and stages of awareness, whose different powers are revealed through aikido practice. Using more than 300 photographs, Gleason sensei presents physical routines that provide an introduction into the Kanagi, Sugaso, and Futonorito levels of spiritual development. Understanding the sacred sounds related to each of these dimensions, the adept gains not only the ability to realize the stages inherent in spiritual mastery but also the ability to maintain health and balance in his or her own life. “When fish move through water, there is no end to the water; when birds fly, there is no end to the sky.” Similarly, humans swim and fly in an ocean of sounds. Understanding Kototama allows human beings to view the world without distortion and allows the creative powers of the mind to flourish.




The Life-Giving Sword


Book Description

The Life-Giving Sword: Kazuo Chiba's Life in Aikido spans modern Japanese history and ranges across the world to tell the story of a man with a mission - to understand and transmit the modern martial art of Aikido. It's a story full of struggle and heartbreak that will leave the reader with a new appreciation of an immigrant's achievements and the transformative power of a unique physical and spiritual practice.




Training with the Master


Book Description

Depicts the training methods and daily life of Morehei Ueshiba, the founder of the marital art known as aikido, or the way of harmony. The photographs were all taken in 1967 when Morehei was, at the summit of his career as a spiritual seeker and when the flower of his teaching was in full bloom.