Category: Book Reflections

Reflecting on Aikido Talks: Conversations with American Aikidoists

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Perry, Susan, and Ronald Rubin. Aikido Talks: Conversations with American Aikidoists. Claremont, Calif.: Areté Press, 2001. What are conversations if not bits of oral history? What are conversations if not small instances that allows one to better know and understand another? These are the aspects that drive the interview in Aikido Talks: Conversations with American … Continue reading Reflecting on Aikido Talks: Conversations with American Aikidoists

Reflecting on The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe

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Anglo, Sydney. The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe. New Haven. Yale University Press. 2000. Finally! After two years of reading, I finally finished reading Sydney Anglo’s The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe! I can say for certain, it was a deep and detailed book cataloguing and comparing fight books or manuals from the medieval period … Continue reading Reflecting on The Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe

Refelcting on Conversations with Daito-Ryu Masters

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Pranin, Stanley. Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu: Conversations with Daito-ryu Masters. Aiki News. 1996. In his never-ending research to better understand the many and the martial artist that was Morihei Ueshiba, the late Stanley Pranin followed the influence of Daito-ryu Aikijujutsu, specifically that of Ueshiba’s teacher, Sokaku Takeda. The aikido sources at the time of Pranin’s research seemed … Continue reading Refelcting on Conversations with Daito-Ryu Masters

Reflecting on Shambhala’s Guide to Kendo

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Kiyota, Minoura. The Shambhala Guide to Kendo: An Essential Introduction to the Principles of the Japanese Art of Swordsmanship. Boston, Mass.: Shambhala Publications, 1995. After finishing Alexander Bennet’s Kendo: Culture of the Sword, I searched for another book that covered some of the same topics and themes. Finally, I came across professor Minoru Kiyota’s Kendo … Continue reading Reflecting on Shambhala’s Guide to Kendo

Reflecting on Walther von Krenner’s Following the Martial Path

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von Krenner, Walther G., and Ken Jeremiah. Following the Martial Path: Lessons and Stories from a Lifetime of Training in Budo and Zen. Spring House, PA: Tambuli Media, 2016. After reading Walther von Krenner’s Atemi, I wanted to acquire more of his work to understand how he reached his conclusions in Atemi. Soon, I found … Continue reading Reflecting on Walther von Krenner’s Following the Martial Path

Reflecting Alexander Bennett’s Culture of the Sword

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Bennett, Alexander. Kendo: Culture of the Sword. 24th ed. Oakland, California: University of California Press, 2015. Upon first opening Alexander Bennett’s book, I did not know what to fully expect. I know little about kendo training and its subtle movements and skills with the shinai, let alone a succinct history of the art. Bennett, however, … Continue reading Reflecting Alexander Bennett’s Culture of the Sword

Reflecting on John Steven’s Abundant Peace

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Stevens, John. Abundant Peace: The Biography of Morihei Ueshiba, Founder of Aikido. Boston: Shambhala, 1987. The prolific aikido author John Stevens published his Abundant Peace in 1987, initially becoming one of the only sources of information outside of Aikido Journal on the art’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba, at the time. It provided many Western practitioners a … Continue reading Reflecting on John Steven’s Abundant Peace