Aikido principles : basic concepts of the peaceful martial art

Aikido is the peaceful martial art. Its defense techniques should be so gentle that even the attacker is delighted. There's no competition, since each participant should be a winner. It's an art that lasts a lifetime, getting increasingly fascinating by each year. This book presents the principles and fundamental concepts of aikido, deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy and the refined ideals of the samurai. It explores all the Japanese traditions and martial art essentials at work in aikido practice. The first part of the book examines the aikido principles for how to find the peaceful solution, and how to enjoy aikido practice to the fullest. The second part explains the Japanese concepts used in aikido, such as do, the way, ki, life energy, tanden, the center, and many more. There is also a chapter about kototama, the spiritual cosmology that was essential to Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. The third part includes Osensei's Rules for Training, the Budo Charter, and an aikido glossary. The book was previously published as Aikido: The Peaceful Martial Art.Stefan Stenudd is a 7 dan Aikikai Shihan aikido instructor, former Vice Chairman of the International Aikido Federation and President of the Swedish Budo & Martial Arts Federation, who has practiced aikido since 1972. He is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Aikido is a martial art unlike any other. It contains no attacks, only defense, and this defense should be so gentle that even the attacker is delighted by it. There is no competition, since each participant should be a winner. It's an art that takes a lifetime to learn. This book presents the principles and basic concepts of aikido, which is deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy and the refined ideals of the samurai. It is not a technical manual, but an exploration of the thoughts and theories at work in aikido practice. The book elaborates on the ethics involved in practicing this martial art, the philosophy on which it's founded, and the attitude needed to progress in aikido. It also goes through the many significant Japanese terms used, explaining their meaning in training as well as in the martial arts context and theory. Among the terms explored are the three words that make up the name of the ai , joining, ki , the universal life energy, and do , the way. Tanden , the center, is also explained thoroughly, as is kiai , the concentration of energy, takemusu , the ideal of improvised martial arts, and many other concepts used in aikido as well as the other Japanese martial arts. One chapter is dedicated to kototama , the cosmology of sounds that the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, studied intensely. There is also a dictionary of the terminology used in aikido. The book was previously published as The Peaceful Martial Art .

Aikido is the peaceful martial art. Its defense techniques should be so gentle that even the attacker is delighted. There's no competition, since each participant should be a winner. It's an art that lasts a lifetime, getting increasingly fascinating by each year.

This book presents the principles and fundamental concepts of aikido, deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy and the refined ideals of the samurai. It explores all the Japanese traditions and martial art essentials at work in aikido practice.

The first part of the book examines the aikido principles for how to find the peaceful solution, and how to enjoy aikido practice to the fullest. The second part explains the Japanese concepts used in aikido, such as do, the way, ki, life energy, tanden, the center, and many more. There is also a chapter about kototama, the spiritual cosmology that was essential to Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. The third part includes Osensei's Rules for Training, the Budo Charter, and an aikido glossary.

The book was previously published as Aikido: The Peaceful Martial Art.

Stefan Stenudd is a 6 dan Aikikai aikido instructor, Vice Chairman of the International Aikido Federation, member of the Swedish Aikikai Grading Committee and the Swedish Budo Federation Board, who has practiced aikido since 1972. He is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.

Aikido is the peaceful martial art. Its defense techniques should be so gentle that also the attacker is delighted. There’s no competition, since each participant should be a winner. It’s an art that takes a lifetime to learn. This book presents the principles and basic concepts of aikido – deeply rooted in Eastern philosophy and the refined ideals of the samurai. It explores all the Japanese traditions and martial art essentials at work in aikido practice. Stefan Stenudd is a 7 dan Aikikai Shihan aikido instructor, former Vice Chairman of the International Aikido Federation and President of the Swedish Budo & Martial Arts Federation, presently a member of the Swedish Aikido Grading Committee. He has practiced aikido since 1972. He is also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.