Aikido: My Spiritual Journey

by Gozo Shioda, Yasuhisa Shioda (Afterword)

In this first full autobiographical work, the legendary aikido grandmaster Gozo Shioda tells of his exciting life. Born in Tokyo in 1915, Shioda excelled as a student of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of aikido. He went on to win first place in the All Japan Martial Arts Exhibition in 1954; and later, founded the Yoshinkan school of aikido, considered a "hard" style for its rigorous training techniques and emphasis on correct form. In 1988, Shioda was awarded the title of Aikido Master by the International Martial Arts Federation. Over the course of his distinguisehd career, he also served as the chief instructor for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the Air Self-defense Force, the Japanese National Railways, and a number of leading Japanese universities.

In Aikido : My Spiritual Journey, Shioda relates moving, personal anecdotes about Ueshiba and imparts what he learned from his mentor. He offers a concise overview of the key elements of aikido, including breath power, focused power, and the power of the center line. About 20 rare photos of the author, chronicling his life in aikido, are also included. Yasuhisa Shioda, the author’s son and himself a prominent figure in the aikido world, has contributed the Afterword to this volume.

Genres: Martial Arts

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2011

Reviews

[Amanda Papenfus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of the founder of Yoshinkan Aikido. Although it’s a different style then I practice (Shin Shin Toitsu Aikido, or Ki-Aikido), I learned so many things that will be applicable to my practice. I wasn’t sure I liked Shioda himself at first given a couple of his accounts; however I appreciated his honesty about the kind of person he was. As I continued reading and seeing how he grew as a person and Aikidoka, I came to like him. It actually felt through a lot of the book like sitting with him listening to him talk as I have during seminars with living Senseis. Since Shioda passed away in 1994, this would not be possible so the book is the closest I can get. Originally written in Japanese, I also appreciate the job the translators (Aikidoka themselves) did in being able to preserve a conversational tone. There were several stories about Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, whom Shioda closely trained under, which were interesting. At the end, his son, who initially was forced into Aikido but came to appreciate it and later took over his father’s dojo, tells stories of his own journey and recollections of his father’s teachings. This provided additional insight from his son as well as added perspective on some of Shioda’s teachings. I underlined so much in this book that I’ll be copying into my Aikido journal before I pass it on to my partner.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars.

Like Aikido itself there are some really good ideas in this book along with some exaggerations and a whole lot of nonsense. Gozo Shioda perfectly elucidates what is required to make Aikido an effective and functional martial art but unfortunately presents these insights while also promoting mysticism and bull-shido.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite surprised by this. Very well written, with a lot of gems!