Product Description

The Daitoryu is a brutally effective fighting method thought to have been first developed more than a thousand years ago by members of the Japanese imperial family. It was then refined and honed in great secrecy through centuries of hand-to-hand combat by highly trained warriors. Its techniques were jealously guarded until late in the nineteenth century, when it was first introduced to the world by master Sokaku Takeda, who began to accept students from around the country.
It was this tradition that Morihei Ueshiba spent years studying just before he set out on his own to found Aikido-which has in recent years become one of the world's most popular martial arts. The roots of Aikido are in the Daitoryu, and for that reason Aikido practitioners will want to learn all they can about this martial art.
The Hidden Roots of Aikido is the first book to appear in English that offers a detailed visual introduction to techniques of the Daitoryu tradition. Heavily illustrated with approximately 800 photographs, it gives a clear, complete picture of the steps involved in about 90 techniques. Its substantial section on history and theory takes a close look at the Daitoryu's historical background and philosophy, while a glossary of terms provides a handy list of the most important terms.
The Hidden Roots of Aikido will be an indispensable learning tool for students of the Daitoryu, and a valuable reference for other martial arts practitioners.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #269888 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 216 pages

Card catalog description
The Daitoryu is a brutally effective fighting method thought to have been first developed more than a thousand years ago by members of the Japanese imperial family. It was then refined and honed in great secrecy through centuries of hand-to-hand combat by highly trained warriors. It was this tradition that Morihei Ueshiba spent years studying just before he set out on his own to found Aikido - which has in recent years become one of the world's most popular martial arts. The roots of Aikido are in the Daitoryu, and for that reason Aikido practitioners will want to learn all they can about this martial art. The Hidden Roots of Aikido is the first book to appear in English that offers a detailed visual introduction to techniques of the Daitoryu tradition. Heavily illustrated with approximately 800 photographs, it gives a clear, complete picture of the steps involved in about 90 techniques.

About the Author

Shiro Omiya studied Aiki Jujutsu Daitoryu with Kozui Tsuruyama, a second-generation disciple of Sokaku Takeda, the master who first introduced the Daitoryu to the world.

Customer Reviews

A good book for learning and reference
This book has a lot of good facts and a huge load of techniques for self-defense. The pictures are slightly hard to follow, but if you fit them together with the description of the process, you should be fine. It would be a very good idea for students and instructors to keep a book like this, since it is a textbook.

You can grab a lot of information.
I did not rate this book with 5 stars because some techniques are poorly explained and you need to follow the pictures. Ah !!! the pictures, they are great, easy to follow and there are lots of them. You can grab so much good information and take it with you to the dojo for practicing. I wish I could have more time to practice everything on this book.

One of the best books in years!!
This is one of the best books I've ever read in the martial arts field. It has helped me a great deal in my own development in the arts. I teach a self defense class in Florence,AL which is geared for practical defense on the street. I especially enjoyed the section on pins and their variations. In today's dojos I see so many instructors focusing on the sport aspects of the arts which don't always work on the street. I loved the fact that they showed the pins that you could do without using your hands and that they never assume that there is only one attacker on the street and that every move addresses these situations. I feel like this book will benefit people of all arts not just Aikido. Many modern style Jujitsu practitioners really need to see this book because I feel like they would learn alot. The only drawback I see is that if you don't already know how to do certain wrist locks you may be lost in some places. For those people I would recommend they read Dynamic Aikido by Gozo Shioda first before buying this book,but I would definately buy this book if I wanted to be a better martial artist