CompleteMartialArts.com - Positive Aikido: A True Story of Traditional Teachings
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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 790 EAN: 9781412046688 ISBN: 1412046688 Label: Not Avail Manufacturer: Not Avail Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 154 Publication Date: 2004-12-31 Publisher: Not Avail Studio: Not Avail
Customer Rating: Summary: Positive Aikido Review Comment: Contents of the book is very good and gives a nice overview about the things that matter about aikido. If you are just starting aikido this will help you understand more the meaning of certain key elements.
Only the way the book is made, I find very unsatisfying. It looks like it has been copied with a xerox machine, this looks very cheap considering the price you have to pay. Customer Rating: Summary: Very Impressed! Comment: As an Aikido student for many years I have read many books on the art,trying to get a better understanding of what I am practicing. Most every book that I've read on the subject reads like a fortune cookie, which makes it hard to keep my eyes open. I want to thank Sensei Ellis, Sensei Eastman and Senei Rogers for writing a book on Aikido technique that doesn't require the use of a thesaurus. The book's no nonsense approach and plain English makes it an easy and enjoyable read.
This book should be on the shelf of every Aikido student, seasoned or beginner. Customer Rating: Summary: Fun, interesting, insightful and very readable Comment: I have read a heard a few people say the have mixed feelings about this book and I think like everything else it boils down to taste and preference.
The people involved in the book Dave Rogers Sensei 3rd dan, Henry Ellis Sensei 5th dan and Derek Eastman 5th dan have an wealth of experience between them so it is safe to say they've "been there, done that and now written the book".
Being a student myself I love nothing more than hearing all the old stories, just as my father used to talk about the old footballers in the days when wearing gloves during a match would result in a hailstorm of abuse, and that's just from their own teammates. And Positive Aikido has an abundance of great stories from the early days of Aikido in Britain.
The book is divided into four categories Spirit, Mind, Body and The element of tradition. Spirit looks at a number of issues including movement, relaxation and discipline to name just a few and they are explained in a manner, which cuts to the chase. Mind looks at a variety of subjects including: Respect, etiquette, beginners and has many comments by the Authors relating to these and much more.
Body focuses on technique and has a great section titled "trouble shooting technique" this section was very informative and again there are snippets of comments and suggestions from the books author/s which make great reading.
The last section of this book is the element of tradition and this was my favorite part of the book, and it really gives you an idea of what it must have been like when Aikido was unknown and training was severe. The stories of Abbe Sensei, Ken Williams Sensei and other well known instructors is very readable and will have you giggling at some of the remarkable things that happened back then.
In Positive Aikido you certainly won't find stories of dodging bullets or super human feats, but you will find accounts by those who were brought up with a method of teaching that is frowned upon nowadays and of respect that will never die. Customer Rating: Summary: A Great Look at Aikido..., Comment: Positive Aikido gives you a look at the early history of Aikido in the UK. A history seen from two early students of Kenshiro Abbe, the Budo Sensei who introduced Aikido to the United Kingdom. I found the writing insightful, straightforward and free of any spiritual balderdash that inhabit too many Aikido books today. The style of Aikido these early students practiced was incredibly effective and positive with the training at times being poignant. I recommend this book for any Aikido student or martial artist regardless of rank. Customer Rating: Summary: Visit the past to know the new Comment: Aikido in the United Kingdom has a very colourful past. Positive Aikido is the first publication to move to the forefront and give an insight to the humble beginnings for what we see today. Although most people in the UK know that Kenshiro Abbe Sensei arrived in 1955, most other facts are normally passed on verbally. This book is the first to preserve the facts and events.
Positive Aikido took the authors nearly 15 years to finally get on the bookshelf. The idea initially was to produce literature to give to new students who were interested in practicing Aikido. As the amount of information began to increase, the idea of collating a book was conceived. This book is littered with old historic pictures and first hand experience of what the Aikido practitioners had to go through in the early years. It is wise to point out; this is no ordinary Aikido publication. Abbe Sensei learned Aikido from O'Sensei during the transition stage from pre to post war. This is the style of Aikido introduced to the UK. Sensei Ellis, who is one of the co-authors of this book, still practises the true way of Aikido. This is reflected in the books contents.
This book in my opinion is unique in the way the content is portrayed. The subject matter is offered in a simple and straightforward way. If the reader is looking for a more spiritual or deeper meaning of Aikido, this will not be found in this edition. Sensei Rogers is pictured in the middle section, on a majority of the Aikido technical section. Contributions from Sensei's Ellis and Eastman's vast Aikido careers fill the book with interesting accounts of events, visiting Japanese Sensei, and the early attempts to spread Aikido to the British public. A must read for anyone who is interested in Aikido history, and early development of British Aikido.
