The Aikido Master Course—Best Aikido 2

Aikido techniques stem from a harmony of body movement and "breath power" (kokyu-ryoku). Since its founding by Morihei Ueshiba, Aikido has become one of the most renowned martial arts in the world, teaching its practitioners the way of harmony as a spiritual path. With its rapid development in the postwar period, Aikido is now practiced by over a million-and-a-half people worldwide, of all ages and backgrounds. The two direct successors to the Founder have therefore compiled official course books to establish guidelines for the proper practice of the martial art.

Moriteru Ueshiba, grandson of the Founder, together with his late father, Kisshomaru Ueshiba, coauthored the widely acclaimed Best Aikido: The Fundamentals, a comprehensive training aid for Aikido students from beginner to advanced. In The Aikido Master Course: Best Aikido 2, Moriteru continues the legacy of his predecessors, providing the essential second volume authorized by the Aikikai Foundation, the central organization set up by his grandfather Morihei Ueshiba.

In this volume, Moriteru shows probably more techniques and their diverse applications than any previous Aikido textbook. Based on a thorough understanding of the principles taught in The Fundamentals, the basic techniques are given a broader application against a variety of armed and unarmed attacks and against more than one attacker. Many different kinds of pins are also illustrated in both their omote and ura forms, thus facilitating the study of Aikido techniques in a wide-ranging and varied manner.

The Aikido Master Course builds on the principles of entering (irimi) and turning (tenkan) combined with "breath power" taught in the first volume, providing the practitioner with step-by-step instructions that will enrich knowledge acquired in the dojo. Illustrated with over 1,100 photographs of the author demonstrating each technique, this will be an indispensable guide for students of Aikido who wish to deepen their knowledge of the techniques, which, in the words of the Founder himself, have "unlimited application."

MORITERU UESHIBA was born in 1951, the grandson of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, and son of the late Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the second Doshu. He graduated from Meiji Gakuin University in 1976, became master of the Aikido World Headquarters in 1986, and in 1996 was named chairman of the Aikikai Foundation. In 1999 he became Aikido Doshu after his father's death, and the permanent chairman of the International Aikido Federation in the same year. He holds several important posts related to the martial arts and is a trustee of the Nippon Budokan, the "hall of martial arts" located in central Tokyo.