Product Description

Invincible Warrior tells the fascinating story of the life of Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), whose quest for the true meaning of warriorship lead to the creation of the martial art called Aikido, "The Art of Peace." Ueshiba—whose name means "abundant peace"—is considered by many to be one of the greatest martial artists who ever lived. His documented ability to disarm any attacker, throw a dozen men simultaneously, and down and pin opponents without touching them has accorded his life legendary status. Invincible Warrior presents the real story behind Morihei's achievement, illuminating the man and his message. Stevens describes the people, events, and ideas that influenced Ueshiba's lifelong spiritual quest, which culminated in the development of unique teachings of Aikido. Illustrated with two hundred photographs of Morihei in action and filled with revealing anecdotes about his life and times, Invincible Warrior also offers valuable discussion of the Founder's conception of Aikido as a path of harmony and love, unifying body and mind, self and others, humans and the universe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #470179 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-16
• Released on: 1999-02-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
John Stevens is Professor of Buddhist Studies and Aikido instructor at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai, Japan. He is the author or translator of over twenty books on Buddhism, Zen, Aikido, and Asian culture. He has practiced and taught Aikido all over the world.

Customer Reviews

Invincible Warrior
Esse livro mostra mais ainda que O Sensei era e ainda é um verdadeiro Mestre. Se você acompanha a obra dele, ou faz Aikidô, ou pretende fazer, essa é uma leitura obrigatória!

Os textos, as fotos, tudo dentro desse livro é belo e detalhista. Essse livro é de extrema importância na vida de todos que gostam ou fazem Aikidô e tem O Sensei como Mestre.

Ugh
This book should be put in the fantasy section of any bookstore.
I get terribly tired of the tales of Ueyeshiba's supernatural exploits. And sadly this book is replete with such nonsense. Seriously they should put this next to exploits of Drizzt Do'Urden or The Hulk.
A more interesting book would have chronicled the development of O'Sensei's early ideas on martial arts with his later crazy views. They are quite different, and moreover it is a progression you can see in the old photographs of him at work. Specifically, you see the journey he took from more or less practical aiki-jutsu to the flowery, ineffectual sillyness he wasted the latter years of his life on.

Excellent overview biography, a lively read!
I bought this book as I was looking for a reasonably complete (though not necessarily exhaustive) biography of the founder of Aikido, preferably with a good number of photographs as well as text. This book fulfilled those requirements, and exceeded my expectations. The story is fascinating and compelling, and it is told in a very enjoyable and readable way.

The author is an American who has lived and taught in Japan for many years. He has developed a deep understanding of Japanese culture which allows him to present this material well to an English-speaking reader.

As to charges that this book promotes mythology about Morihei Ueshiba: I'm really not in a position to say for myself, not having had a chance to compare this book with other authors' work on the topic. Until I do, I will reserve judgment. In any case, I found Stevens' book to be a very worthwhile read.