Overview of the book Understanding Aikido: Essential Information and PerceptionsUnderstanding Aikido presents an historical, cultural, and philosophical look at the development of the Japanese martial art of Aikido. Sunderlin focuses on the influences brought to bear on Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, and the subsequent cultivation of the latter's martial art as a vessel of Budo. The author also provides a look at the different directions Aikido has taken since its inception and tackles some of the criticism leveled by practitioners of other martial arts, then offers ideas for strengthening Aikido as a viable method of self-defense while calling for increased cooperation between its numerous styles. The book is NOT an Aikido "How to," though its technical characteristics are discussed. The topics are in-depth and complex. Understanding Aikido: Essential Information & Perceptions concerns the Japanese 'martial art' of Aikido. 11 sections, 17 chapters with endnotes; includes tables, figures, pictures, a glossary, a bibliography, an index, 530 pages. At this time, it is being evaluated for translation into a French language version. Click here to see a short biography of the author. The book was released in a paperback edition on July 17, 2013 and is available in bookstores and from online book sellers; ~$24.99. A hardback edition was released on February 26, 2015; dark blue cloth coverboards with dust jacket; ~$43.79. A smaller book, Aikido! What is it?, which provides a helpful introduction to Aikido's foundational characteristics as well as its interorganizational and technical challenges, is available in paperback and as a Kindle ebook. A special edition hardback was released on July 17th, 2015, which includes gray cloth coverboards with gold impressed lettering on the spine, new and different dust jacket imagery, a description of the derivation and meaning of the dust jacket's front cover Shodokan Aikido symbol, color highlights on the chapter heading images, and color highlights on three drawings. When purchased from CreateSpace, a quantity discount is available for licensed book resellers and schools of Budo. This discount applies only to the paperback version offered by CreateSpace and is only given for five (5) or more books. The business entity requesting such must provide documentation that substantiates it as a legitimate, registered book reseller or school of Budo. To inquire about the discount for Understanding Aikido: Essential Information and Perceptions, send an e-mail to Discount Inquiry.Availability of book: Both paperback and hardback versions of this book are available at most online booksellers. Neither version is kept in stock at on-the-street booksellers but a customer can special order it from these. Regarding the hardback version, Amazon lists it as "Temporarily out of stock" in order to drive customers to the paperback version, which is printed by CreateSpace (an Amazon subsidary company), because it earns more from the latter. The hardback version at Amazon is not really out of stock; but it will take a several weeks to get it once it is ordered because it is a print-on-demand hardback book, crafted and distributed by IngramSpark.A very few copies (4 paperbacks, 2 hardbacks) of the two books mentioned above that were sold between March 9, 2015 and April 19, 2015 are eligible for replacement because they may contain some annoying spelling errors. Make your request here: include a digital copy of your purhase receipt. Sorry for the inconvenience, but large literary works such as this one, even with the efforts of an editor, are very difficult to produce as a perfect creation.Note: The above mentioned paperback books are assembled and printed by CreateSpace, the hardback by IngramSpark. Both versions are POD (Print On Demand) books and as such may suffer a little in quality due to the processes used in assembly. When you receive your book from either of these printers (via a book seller), make certain to inspect the thickness of the glue layer that acts as the stiffener for the spine. If the glue layer, as viewed either from the foot or head of the spine, is not at least a visible 1/32 of an inch thick (but preferable 1/16 of an inch) then ask for a replacement that has a sufficiently thick glue strip from the book seller. Without a sufficient thickness to the glue strip, the book, due to its physical thickness of about 1.20 inches, will rather quickly develop a crease down the center of the spine. This is less of a problem with the hardback but it can still occur. Both CreateSpace and IngramSpark consider their 'perfectbound' books to be such when the spine edges of the pages are imbedded in a hardened glue strip; however, in a superior perfectbound book, the pages are grouped in what is called "signatures" (folded sections of pages) and then glued at the spine, which is the only sturdy, true perfectbound condition. From time to time I order a quality control copy from both CreateSpace and IngramSpark to attempt to ensure that the production of these books coming off of their assembly line are of sufficient good quality, but both of these printers can slip up from time to time and produce an unacceptable book. As an author, the reason I went with POD printers is that no traditional publisher (like Tuttle or North Atlantic publishers, for example) would accept my manuscript (probably due to its numerous controversial topics); and believe me, I sent it in to many different publishers only to receive one rejection after another. I began writing this book's manuscript in 2009. To date, I am still seeking a literary agent who can properly present it to a traditional publishing house. Until then, it'll remain a POD.
Table of Contents
Section I - The Evolution of AikidoChaptersUnderstanding Aikido. What is it?Self-Defense: Sen, Maai, and AikiSpirituality in Aikido: Ai, Ki, and AikiMorihei Ueshiba: History, Piety, and the Omoto-kyoAikikai vs. Shodokan: Conflicting Views of BudoThe Manchurian FactorThe Competition DilemmaKenji Tomiki: History and His Contribution to AikidoAikido Competition: A Reformed Shiai
Section II - An Aikido Practitioner's Survival GuideChaptersFinding a Suitable Aikido School or StyleGeneral Aikido Technical ConsiderationsSafe Aikido Practice and the Practitioner's DemeanorThe Abatement of Fear
Section III - Information & Guidelines for TeachersChaptersTeaching Considerations and MethodsAn Aikido Master's Personality AttributesPrimary Techniques Comparison of Aikikai and Tomiki-derived StylesTeaching Children: Considerations and Course Outline
Section IV - The Zantoppa KaiThe Reason for the Zantoppa Kai
Section V - Essays by Students and TeachersGozo Shioda & the Development of Yoshinkan AikidoDoes Aikido Really Work?My Personal Development
Section VI - Aikido Historical Event TimelinesTimeline #1: Comparison of Morihei Ueshiba and Kenji TomikiTimeline #2: Major Events: Kenji Tomiki and Kisshomaru UeshibaTimeline #3: Comparison of Judo and Aikido Formational EventsTimeline #4: Comparison of Attitudes & Events Leading to FactionalizationTimeline #5: Names Used to Identify Ueshiba's Evolving Martial ArtTable #4: Names of Northeast Asia's Villages, Towns, and Districts
Section VII - The Zan Ideogram & other pertinent KanjiThe Zan Ideogram & Other Pertinent Kanji
Section VIII - Special Editorial CommentSpecial Editorial Comment
Section IX - Autobiographical Sketches
Section X - Glossary
Section XI - Bibliography
Section XII - Index
Here's the original booklet entitled Understanding Aikido (1991) that eventually resulted in the writing of Understanding Aikido: Essential Information and Perceptions (2013).
