Aikido & the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction Book

Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere is excellent as far as martial arts books go (at least the ones I've seen): it provides you with a little history, a little philosophy behind the art, and a lot of discussion of technique & application. Interestingly, the line drawings used throughout the book to illustrate techniques work *better* than photographs here, because the minimalist presentation allows you to see the line of attack, irimi tenkan, etc., which are usually integrated with the drawing. (Photographs also tend to be grainy or poor quality in Aikido manuals for some reason.) I seem to recall reading somewhere (an Aikido Journal review?) that the illustrator actually won an award for his work in Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere. Read the book, and you'll see why he earned the distinction.

I would definitely recommend Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere to anyone starting out in this martial art as a supplement to your training. Two other resources I would highly recommend are "Aikido 3d" () and the late Shoji Nishio's DVD series available from Aikido Journal. Nishio Sensei had developed a unique style that, by his own estimation, isn't found in most Aikido schools; but he was a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba, and as a black belt in Karate, Judo and Iato, he brought a critical understanding to the art that is sometimes lacking in modern Aikido techniques -- namely, that Aikido was meant to be a true martial art, and accordingly its techniques should adapt and develop relative to other martial arts... otherwise, Aikido forfeits its practical value, and your training is basically a dance or cardio workout.