Co-located at the Buddhist Temple of Toledo, Shobu Aikido of Ohio provides Aikido and Internal Power/Aiki training for adults and children in the greater Toledo area with weekly classes and seasonal seminars. Visitors are always welcome.
An interesting book
As a beginner in aikido, I am always looking for books to supplement my first steps in this martial art. "The Aikido Student Handbook" by Greg O'Connor (purchase it through the Toledo dojo's home page) has been a great first resource for me. It's one of those books I'll be reading and referring to on a regular basis. While I was out of town for the holidays this past week, I bought "Aikido Basics" by Phong Thong Dang and Lynn Seiser. It's very good too. Sometimes the descriptions of techniques are difficult for a novice to understand just by reading them, but I particularly appreciate reading sections about proper aikido etiquette, mental approach, and ki development. If anyone has particular books they would recommend -- especially for someone new like me -- I would appreciate hearing about these books. Thanks. ---Tom
I would also recommend William Gleason Sensei's book "The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido".
ReplyDeleteGleason Sensei is Jay Sensei's teacher, and together they are the instructors for the Okugyo retreats some at the dojo have done. I don't think this is a book you read once and, bang, you "have it". It is rather one that you will refer to again and again.
-Chuck
"The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido" is an excellent book, but it would be too confusing for the beginner. Gleason Sensei even warns the reader in his book that one would get lost by the fourth chapter. (How right he was!) I would recommend attending one of the Okugyo retreats before reading this book. "The Principles of Aikido" by Saotome Sensei (available in the Dojo Store) is a good book. It shows picture by picture the techniques that we do. To satisfy your intellectual curiousity, I highly recommend "The Zen Way to the Martial Arts" by Taisen Deshimaru Roshi (also in the Dojo Store), who delves into the philosophies of Zen and Budo and offers a practical application to Aikido training. I hope this helps.
ReplyDelete-Andre ("Muketsu")