Aikido

[Feathers of Doom]

im trying to find an Aikido instructor but there doesnt seem to be one in any reasonable distance from my school or home. i was wondering if there were any good books out there that might outline some of the basics.

[bushido_man96]

I have a book titled Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere. I enjoyed reading the book, but it was more informative as opposed to being an all-out instruction manual. Take a look at it if you find it, though.

[shogeri]

That is a good book...I read it once, and was considering buying it as well.

The dynamic sphere is really similar to the concepts of the jujutsu circular theory, and the understanding of jujutsu movement, etc.

later!

[jedimc]

Try your local library, I recommend Aikido by Koichi Tohei and Best Aikido: The Fundamentals by Kisshomaru Ueshiba, Moriteru Ueshiba.

[Ottman]

You can also find a lot of very basic instructional videos online (I love you tube!) and while I'm not saying that books or videos are a substitute for instruction, they can certainly help you understand the concepts and visualize the motions.

[bushido_man96]

You can also find a lot of very basic instructional videos online (I love you tube!) and while I'm not saying that books or videos are a substitute for instruction, they can certainly help you understand the concepts and visualize the motions.

This is true. If anything, they make great references when you forget a little something about a technique.

[granmasterchen]

this may sound very silly.....but look for a sword fighting type school. Fighting with a katana is very similar and actually historically related to the techniques of aikido. When you grab your opponents arm with an open hand block think of their arm as a sword and move and swing your "sword" you'll see where i'm coming from.

[Ottman]

granmasterchen just said it all. In fact there may be a Nami Ryu school near you where you can study Kenjitsu, Iajitsu, and Aiki-jujitsu. The movements for Kenjitsu will be nearly (if not totally) identical to the Aiki-jujitsu movements, except that you're holding a sword in your hand in kenjitsu, and unarmed for Aiki-jujitsu.

I will check to see if someone is teaching near you, and you can talk to them to see if it's a good fit. What area are you near?

[jedimc]

Yes Aikido is based around sword fundamentals but it wont make you a sword master.