Aikido and Words of Power: The Sacred Sounds of Kototama

This is a new seller and I was wondering about the safety of such purchase. The book was describe as good or very good appearance. The cover look like almost new, the pages are white. And only the 1st chapter has some highlight.The delivery was quick also. I am very happy with the product and choosing the new seller. Keep doing a great job.

Gleason Sensei's second book, published 14 years after his first, is just as thrilling to read, and shows how his understanding of Shinto and Aikido continues to evolve. He elaborates on certain topics first mentioned in "The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido," such as amatsu iwasaka functioning as the eight powers, how the principle of the three origins can be seen simultaneously as relative and absolute, the three different orders of the kototama, and of course, how all of this relates to our development in Aikido and daily life. Also, Sensei emphasizes the importance of our physical body as the best starting point in developing a closer relationship with our spiritual body, specifically via unifying our breath with the breath/rhythm of the universe. "The ki of the universe gives birth to us through breath and sustains its own creation through breath. Becoming consciously aware of breath, ki, and mind as our true body, the illusion of separation disappears and it becomes possible to manifest power far beyond that of physical muscle (pg. 75)." The last chapter, "Inochi: Aikido as a Spiritual Path," identifies the true path of a human being's life as absolutely divine, yet few of us realize this. Sensei explains how our senses have become clouded by our evolution/development, yet paradoxically, this is completely necessary in order to possibly return to a place of "perfect judgement."This is not light reading, yet anyone who is willing to take the time to read, and very often reread many parts of this text, will find that they are inspired to learn more and more. It is quite unfortunate that these teachings are not very well known by many people, and this basically becomes our drive for striving to develop ourselves--so that we can lead by example for the sake of others.I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone, not just aikidoka, who are seeking a deeper understanding of the mutually supportive relationships between Heaven, Earth, and Mankind.

The short review of this book is that it is simply one of the best I have ever come across. If you train in aikido or any martial art, it is a must read.Kotodama has been an interest of my for some time now. During my aikido training, the subject would come up but even high level instructors either did not know about it, did not believe in it or had little information on the subject to share. As such, for many years it was on the back burner. Only recently, my Japanese language teacher and my Shodo instructor were able to speak clearly and in detail about the subject. If you are not as fortunate to find individuals to discuss this fascinating subject with, Gleason sensei's book is the next best thing. It is a complicated subject but when one is well versed in a given subject, they are able to simply the complex. Such is the case here.Gleason sensei's 40 plus years in aikido, including a decade living in Japan was the obvious groundwork for this exceptional book. In other words, he DID, thus is able to SPEAK.There are quite a number of photos demonstrating aikido technique that is also of great value. They illustrate the various concepts and terms that are being discussed and help the reader (particularly those not training in aikido) better understand what the author is teaching.This is the type of aikido training I would love to be exposed to -- not only the techniques, but the spiritual components of a highly spiritual art. Your martial art skill may improve but more importantly, your life improves. In my opinion, that is the greatest value of martial arts training today.

This book, although sometimes complex, is nothing less than a must read to those who want to go further on the essence of Aikido. Differently than many publications, even those translated from Japanese language, it goes far beyond mere truism and really clarifies many sayings of O-Sensei. For example, the relationship between heaven, man and earth and fire and water on Aikido, concepts related to the Shinto religion, are clearly discussed. The Kotodama principle, that distinguishes Aikido from other martial arts and is often misunderstood, is given a thorough analysis.The great Yamaguchi Sensei, teacher of Gleason Sensei on Japan in the seventies, used to say that "almost everything in Aikido is hidden". This is so because its physical manifestations were created to be ineffective until one has really understood the expansive spiral motion and use of ki ([...]). On this book, Gleason Sensei generously unveils these mysterious concepts to the Aikido community worldwide.Francisco França JúniorAizen Dojo ([...])Brasília - Brazil

O Aikido, tal como o Tai Chi, por exemplo, perdeu, por vezes, algo do espírito inicial, reduzindo-se às técnicas e procurando, sobretudo, efeitos benéficos na saúde física e mental. O autor recupera, neste livro, o espírito que Morihei Ueshiba nos legou. Será eficaz? Isso já não depende dele, mas da receptividade dos leitores.

I would say this is not an easy read. The concepts worked through are complex and perseverance is required to appreciate the nuances of Gleason's remarkable book. For practicing aikidokai this is a 'must have' text as it goes into some depth around the origins of how O-Sensei utilised the ancient kotortama. It's also full of (more easily written) explanations/applications of kototama in aikido practice. However, for me one of the most important aspects of this book is the emphasis on the origins of the true spirit of aikido: harmony, compassion, openness and embracing our shared humanity. Gleason writes with genuine conviction about how these fundamental principles of aikido need to be addressed in our practice and, by inference how aikido is, at heart, about learning the truth of who we are: one with the universe.

it shows the connection between understanding words, energies and physical movement. the approach is unique and cannot be found elsewhere.

There are no such words of power when words are too many and vague.I've found myself flowing with the hints and hints, like the ancient schools. It was a nice try, but the technology of thought applied did not invite me to live this power in depth.There are no questions. Masters ask questions in order to accompany the process of the reader rather than injecting a lesson.There are no facts. An idea without a foot on earth has never become a tree of experience.There are many pictures about Aikido and if you practice Aikido it will be fruitful, I'm sureIf you work with words and sound, better try another book.Better try "Aikido: The Peaceful Martial Art"All this said, I am thankful for this work and honour its realisation as it is.