Reviews for Secret Teachings of Aikido

The average rating for Secret Teachings of Aikido based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-10-14 00:00:00 Cassius Fer Confusing yet inspiring. It sometimes reads as free-flow ramblings, mixing bits of religion and philosophy together. While broken up into chapters, there's quite a bit of repetition. Not necessarily a must read, but an eye-opening peak into the mind of O-Sensei. Bottom line: Aikido is the way to unifying the mind, body and spirit with the universe in order to spread love and make you and the world a better place.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-10-22 00:00:00 Theresa Crumpton This is not a book of martial arts techniques, rather the spirit behind one system as presented by its Founder. Aikido is a nonviolent martial art designed to "save the life of one's opponent as well as one's own." Morihei Ueshiba, the Founder of Aikido, was an expert in several forms of Japanese martial arts, and even trained Japanese soldiers in the early twentieth century. He increasingly grew disenchanted with the growing violence and militarism in his country and became part of a Shinto sect that protested Japanese militarism in the 1930's. The Japanese government sought to silence descent and drove the sect underground during World War II, sending Ueshiba Sama into a self imposed exile in the countryside of Japan. There he sought to find a better way than causing injury, and developed Aikido which he began to introduce to the world after the end of the war. I had taken classes in other forms of martial arts and found them too violent for my taste, relying on "breaking the other guy's face" and usurped, more or less by a lot of macho strutting. Being far from the macho strutting crowd, and having long been interested in the spiritual side of Aikido, I have only recently been able to begin Aikido training. This book came to my hands and gave me reference to the basis of the Founder's approach. Much of the background in based in Shinto scripture, namely the Kojiki, but the reader can still find an understanding of what Aikido is all about, and what Ueshiba Sama had intended, including seeking an end to violence, and making a new direction toward peace and understanding. Even if you are not interested in martial arts, but would like to find a different and nonviolent approach to life's experiences, this is still a worth reading.