A deeply personal and compelling memoir that illustrates how the basic principles of Aikido can help us cope with the challenges of life outside the dojo Drawing from more than forty years of experience as an Aikido practitioner and teacher, Kathy Park explains how principles such as embodiment, grounding, centering, extension, 360-degree awareness, blending, and alignment can be applied to everyday life. Candid stories from her own life show how the purpose of practicing Aikido on the mat is to take it off the mat and into the world.
A training guide for Aikido practitioners. Author C. M. Shifflett explains the rationale behind each of the exercises, and addresses questions and concerns of Aikido students and teachers.
Set in a ghost town in California's Mojave Desert, Seeing Into Stone: A Sculptor's Journey is a memoir about the author's struggle with flaws in her vision, her carvings and her new marriage as she searches for her identity as an artist. Through her fifteen-year apprenticeship with Gordon Newell, a wise and patient stone sculptor, she learns that carving stone and wood can be understood as a metaphor for life: go with the grain and not against it; trust that the form inside will emerge in its own good time; and realize that understanding comes slowly, chip by chip.
Adrift in Tokyo, translating obscene rap lyrics for giggling Japanese high school girls,, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger comes to a revelation about himself: He has never been fit nor brave. Guided by his roommates, Fat Frank and Chris, he sets out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is drawn into the world of Japanese martial arts, joining the Tokyo Riot Police on their yearlong, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against bloodstained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In Angry White Pyjamas, Twigger blends, the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the dojo (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of life in contemporary Japan. Adrift in Tokyo, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger came to a revelation about himself: He had never been fit or brave. Guided by his roommates, he set out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is sucked into the world of Japanese martial arts and joins the Tokyo Riot Police on their year-long, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against blood-stained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In this entertaining book, Twigger blends the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the "dojo" (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of contemporary Japan.Adrift in Tokyo, "thirtynothing" Robert Twigger came to a revelation about himself: He had never been fit or brave. Guided by his roommates, he set out to cleanse his body and mind. Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is sucked into the world of Japanese martial arts and joins the Tokyo Riot Police on their year-long, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against blood-stained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. In this entertaining book, Twigger blends the ancient with the modern--the ultratraditionalism, ritual, and violence of the "dojo" (training academy) with the shopping malls, nightclubs, and scenes of everyday Tokyo life in the 1990s--to provide a brilliant, bizarre glimpse of contemporary Japan.
The rapidly changing nature of today's business world requires that people possess strong leadership expertise that will enable them to handle potential problems with efficiency, intelligence, and diplomacy. As managers and employers rethink out-moded business paradigms in order to keep offices running smoothly, production levels high, and morale up, Leadership Aikido presents innovative skills that answer their urgent needs. Author and management consultant John O'Neil shows us how the concepts of aikido can be used as a lifelong business practice. Aikido--the martial arts tradition that stresses victory without harm--employs six master practices that enable us to assess and develop our leadership potential. These practices of aikido are: cultivating self-knowledge; practicing the paradoxical art of planning; speaking the language of mastery; letting values drive our decisions; turning failure into success; and heeding the law of unintended consequences. Using these elements of aikido, we are then able to identify and overcome five inner enemies that impede our progress--failure to grow emotionally; failure to make creative decisions; failure to empathize; failure to manage ego; and failure to overcome alienation and boredom. In his straightforward and thoughtful manner, John O'Neil ensures us that by adopting these practices into our lives, we will benefit both professionally and personally. By embracing the philosophy of aikido and bringing beliefs, perceptions, and actions into harmony, Leadership Aikido will enable us to embark on a path of continual learning, inner personal change, and enlightened leadership that will revolutionize the way we set and achieve our goals.
Drawing on the poetic wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, American sensei Wendy Palmer translates the powerful teachings of aikido for use in everyday life. With poignant reflections on her own life, including teaching inmates in a woman's federal prison, she describes how we can regain our sense of freedom, vitality, and integrity when under the duress of life's "attacks" by transforming our negativity into budo, or unconditional love. The Practice of Freedom is invaluable not only for students of aikido and other movement and martial arts, but also for those who seek to live with confidence and self-reliance, to establish clear and compassionate boundaries, and to deepen their capacities for relationships.
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.
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.
A deeply personal and compelling memoir that illustrates how the basic principles of Aikido can help us cope with the challenges of life outside the dojo Drawing from more than forty years of experience as an Aikido practitioner and teacher, Kathy Park explains how principles such as embodiment, grounding, centering, extension, 360-degree awareness, blending, and alignment can be applied to everyday life. Candid stories from her own life show how the purpose of practicing Aikido on the mat is to take it off the mat and into the world.
The Intuitive Body draws on the principles of the non-aggressive Japanese martial art aikido and meditation to present a fresh approach to cultivating awareness, attention, and self-acceptance. Author Wendy Palmer shows readers through basic practice and partner exercises how to become more aware of the body and trust its innate wisdom. She introduces exercises from the Conscious Embodiment and Intuition Training program she pioneered, connection movement, meditation, and breathing. These exercises form a daily practice that can help the process of integration, of deepening and unifying the self, and learning to deal with fear and anger. Written in a direct yet nurturing style and based on the author’s many years of practice and teaching, this revised edition of The Intuitive Body contains new material on Conscious Embodiment movement and meditation practices. Also here are new chapters on advocating without aggressing and the wisdom of not knowing—embodying the qualities of dignity and integrity in everyday life. The book is ideal for readers who are already engaged in the process of becoming, as well as for those who are looking for ways to find the courage to begin.
