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About the
AikiBib database
Thank you for
your interest in the AikiBib
database! Below are the primary
criteria I used to select the
books you find here:
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All aikido
books that are written in
English. These books are
typically historical,
biographical, philosophical,
and/or technique oriented.
No screening was done and to
date we have added no
personal “reviews."
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Books that
probe the "roots" of aikido,
including those on budo,
weapons, aiki-jujutsu,
daito-ryu aiki-jitsu, and
samurai arts and culture.
Because we make a serious
study of weapons practice in
the dojo, I have tried to
document and research all
books written in English on
Japanese weapons and
weaponry. I did not include
any books on Okinawan Kobudo;
other than that I did no
screening. Books in this
category include those on
kyudo, iaido, tameshigiri,
swords/armor, craftsmanship,
swordsmanship, sword making,
sword collecting, jo-do,
kendo, and many esoteric
arts.
-
Selected
books on budo, martial
character and spirit, and ki
development, because these
topics relate to the spirit
of aikido.
-
"Related
works," books covering the
wide range of topics that
help to understand the
martial milieu in Japan, the
roots of the Japanese
martial arts, and ultimately
aikido. This category may
include books on the
Samurai, Zen, Sumo, kyusho,
bugei, and areas that help
one to research and learn,
such as Tai Chi,
Confucianism, Buddhism, kung
fu, meditation, kototama,
inner arts, ki development,
self defense, karate, kempo.
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Further, the
time period when aikido was
founded saw three great
innovators: Gichin Funakoshi
(karate), Jigoro Kano
(judo), and Morihei Ueshiba
(aikido). It was a time of
great synthesis of ideas,
concepts, and application,
and much inventive, living
thought. I felt it was
important to include books
that capture this excitement
and contribute to the
understanding of the
evolution of the arts
through succeeding
generations.
-
The seminal
works and classics were also
seen as important. For this
reason there are many works
on judo and on the
practitioners that helped
spread the sport and art
throughout the world.
-
Lastly, I
discovered a body of many
books that depict self
defense and ju-jitsu as it
became known to the American
populace, and have attempted
to locate some of those
publications. One such
resource was Robert Smith's
famous bibliography A
Complete Guide to Judo.
Another is a bibliography of
early ju-jitsu books from
1890 through 1950.
There are no
magazines, newsletters, etc.;
only whole books are included
here. Most are currently in
print, but that was not a
requirement for selection.
Hopefully enough information is
included for each book, often
including the table of contents
and the promotional material
from the book jacket, that you
will be able to compare the
content with what you seek or
with other books with similar
titles.
Also, most importantly, the
bibliography is searchable (by
fields-author, title, contents,
promotional material), and thus
becomes an invaluable research
tool.
Thanks to Roy Hodges for
database work and Dan Wendling
for editing and project
assistance.
Chas Poor
Aikido Shobukan Dojo
Takoma Park, Maryland
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