Aikido Books
Recommended reading about Aikido
and Japanese martial arts and culture

A lot of good books have been written about Aikido. Here is a list of some of our favorites.

Aikido Beginners

Greg O'Connor
Aikido Student Handbook

Westbrook and Ratti
Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere

Frank Doran 
Aikido West Beginners' Handbook (Available free online.)

Books By and About the Founder

Morihei Ueshiba O'Sensei
Budo Training in Aikido

Budo: Teachings of the Founder of Aikido

John Stevens
Abundant Peace

O'Sensei video

Aikido Philosophy

 
Kisshomaru Ueshiba Aikido
The Spirit of Aikido

Aikido 

M. Saotome
Aikido and the Harmony of Nature

Aikido Technical

 Morihiro Saito
Takemusu Aikido (6 volumes)

Aikido: Its Heart and Appearance
Written to "help you grasp the roots of Aikido which creates an unlimited number of techniques.” First printed in March 1975, the book has once again become available.

Traditional Aikido
Published in the early 1970s, this series is out of print. If you find a copy, buy it.

Shoji Nishio
Yurusu Budo: The Irimi-Issoku Principle
Available with an accompanying set of 3 DVD's.

Westbrook and Ratti
Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere

Aikido DVDs

Aikido videos

General Aikido

Nobuyoshi Tamura                                 
Aikido - Etiquette and Transmission
Available free online at www.aikidoonline.com Select: Archives--Nobuyushi Tamura--"Aikido - Etiquette and Transmission" (9 chapters)

Tamura Sensei video

Self-Defense 

Gavin de Becker
The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

Peyton Quinn
A Bouncer's Guide to Barroom Brawling:  Dealing with the Sucker Puncher, Streetfighter, and Ambusher

“I remember talking to him (Peyton Quinn) about his background and he said he laughed when he heard folks say that Aikido didn't work... "it's amazing how well iriminage works when you bounce the guy's head off the bar."   -George Ledyard

Threat Response Workshop
1-day intensive training at locations throughout Utah

Japanese History, Arts, and Culture

Daisetz T. Suzuki
Zen and Japanese Culture

H. E. Davey
Living the Japnaese Arts & Ways: 45 Paths to Meditation and Beauty
A discussion of 45 principles of the Japanese arts. This book discusses principles and mental states that"are universal to all Japanese Ways." (p. 11)
 
Davey Sensei, the author, is himself a practitioner of Aiki-jujutsu (7th dan) and shodo (Japanese brush writing.) He recently conducted a seminar at Utah Aikikai in Salt Lake City.)

Zen

The Zen sect of Buddhism is closely associated with the Japanese arts including Chado (the way of tea), Kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship), and Kyudo (Japanese archery.)

Zen is a discipline of that can be practiced by people of any religion.

Katsuki Sekida
Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy

Takuan Soho
The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master

Daisetz T. Suzuki
Zen and Japanese Culture