Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere

View other editions of Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere.
View books by Adele Westbrook, Oscar Ratti.

Aikido Text Book - Rated
If you wish to learn the art of Aikido and could only have one book; this would be it. It is effectively illustrated, better than photos. From history and theory, dojo etiquette and fundamental techniques of defense...all is covered. This book will give you broad overview of the mental and spiritual underpinnings of Aikido as a whole. Must have this book in every library.

The book to have. - Rated
I have the hard back edition and I am on my third reading! Well laid out with the line drawings that give the idea of movement that photographs can not show.

A must buy for any aikidoka.

An Intelligent Intro to an Intelligent Martial Discipline - Rated
Not your run-of-the-mill martial arts book. Thoughtfuly and intelligently put together.It is almost impossible to put such a volume together without including some form of instruction, but normally I would advise against it, as the subtleties of execution cannot be appreciated in a few line drawings. Nevertheless, the authors give it a good shot.
In some ways I feel the book is a little too pseudo-philosophical, but the sense of the spiritual inherent in aikido is adequtely conveyed. Well worth a read as an expert or aspirant

Buy it - Rated
The best book on Aikido i have read and a useful referance book.

Top notch book on a thinking persons fighting art - Rated
I have the hard-back edition of this book and it helped me get to grips with Aikido when I went back training in the art after a few years away from training. I had started training when in college but couldn't get my head around the mind-set of Aikido (i had trained previously in Karate) and as a result found it hard to 'stick with it'. When I found this book, everything clicked into place and I understood (better if not completely)the basic physical and mechanical principles of the techniques and also a whole lot more about the underlying philosphy of the art and of O'Sensei.

This helped me pick my next teacher well and his teaching style has me running to this book every so often to highlight key points and scribble in the margins. My only gripe is that some of the line drawings (very beautifully done) and diagrams are a little hard to follow, but having the technique applied to me/applying the technique to my training partner for real soon helped me to figure out which way was up.

DO NOT rely on this book to teach you Aikido. To learn Aikido (and any MA for that reason) you need a competent, qualified teacher who understands and has a passion for what they are teaching and aren't just going through the motions in a McDojo to pay the mortgage. DO rely on this book to supplement your experiences and learning in an Aikido. Works for me guv.