Aikido and Words of Power ─ The Sacred Sounds of Kototama

Director of Shobu Aikido in Boston and a sixth dan instructor, Gleason follows his The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido with further philosophical clarification and greater detail concerning the practical application of teachings by Morihei Ueshiba O-sensei, the founder of Aikido, who died in 1969. He covers the five principles in turn: aikitama or the spirit of universal harmony, sangen or the unique principle of dynamic monism, iki or the breath of life, shugyo or the spiritual training of technique, and inochi or aikido as a spiritual path. Photographs illustrate the positions and moves he describes. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

William Gleason has studied aikido and Japanese medicine and philosophy since 1969, including 10 years of study in Japan. The director of Shobu Aikido in Boston and a 6th dan instructor, he is the author of The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido and translator of Mitsugi Saotome’s Principles of Aikido.