Invincible Warrior

by John Stevens

The fascinating story of the life of Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), whose quest for the true meaning of warriorship led to the creation of the martial art called Aikido--The Art of Peace. INVINCIBLE WARRIOR illuminates the man and his message. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs of Morihei in action.

Genres: Martial Arts, Biography, Nonfiction

255 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Stevens (1947- ) is a Buddhist priest and Aikido teacher.

Reviews

[Joel Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

MORIHEI DISPLAYS AN IMMOVABLE MIND - WHICH CAN RESPOND TO ANY CONTINGENCY WITHOUT LOSS OF COMPOSURE.

Story of Morihei Ueshiba -creator of Aikido = The Way of Harmony.

A whack on the head will turn him into an enemy forever; gentle persuasion will make him your friend for life.

If one's mind is steady and pure one can instantly perceive an attacker and counter.

True victory is self victory.

Morihei (like all old time masters) was opposed to open performances list his techniques be stolen and misused by unsavoury characters.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book on O-Sensei. I enjoyed how the author spent the first 70+ pages going through his life and the influences that helped shape him and THEN showed the pictorial history. It was well thought out and planned.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to the founder of Aidido, however it is too liberally peppered with tales of O Sensei's feats of superhuman strength and ability. A fantastic man he was, but at the end of the day still a man.

[Pupsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great read.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read several books on Aikido, and each inevitably has some of the notable O'Sensei stories peppered into the introduction at least. I enjoyed this biography as it fills in many of the details surrounding those stories: the nearly quixotic adventure through politically tense China/Mongolia, duels with a who's who list of martial artists of the dynamic time he lived in, and his relationships with several influential personalities such as Deguchi and Takeda. I have short patience for works that perhaps overplay the mystique around O'Sensei, so I liked how this book tends to present the various accounts of O'Sensei's supernatural capabilities in the words of those who witnessed his feats. He does not add further commentary as to whether the reader should believe them or not. Furthermore, Stevens doesn't seem to pull punches in that he includes anecdotes about less palatable aspects of O'Sensei's life - an affair with a young woman in Hokkaido, his poor management of finances, and many instances illustrating his overall eccentricity. All in all, the effect is an honest feeling treatment. In other words, you can look at the more unbelievable accounts like O'Sensei dodging bullets and reading minds as either his and his disciples' efforts to add to his mystique or as an affirmation of your faith in his abilities. Any reader should come away with a sense that this was truly a remarkable individual that those of us who never met him will never truly understand. I really enjoyed the rich collection of photos, many I'd never seen before. My favorite was of Hatsu Ueshiba stitching some misbehaving piece of O'Sensei's clothes while he smiles lovingly. For some reason, that image seems to speak volumes but I haven't quite figured out of what.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

I've read a couple biographies of O'Sensei now and I'm always left feeling very unfulfilled. I guess what I want to know is the HOW: how did he take his training in various other, older martial arts--jujitsu, sword and swear fighting, etc.--and form the art known as aikido?

My instructor tells me that I'm kind of thinking about it all wrong. Westerners generally expect that since Ueshiba was the "inventor" of aikido it was a finished product which he taught and gave the world. It's really not that simple. Rather, Ueshiba sowed the seeds while others cultivated the plants. His disciples took the techniques and theories given to them by O'Sensei, refined them, codified them (to a certain extent) and developed the major styles of aikido that are taught today. Originally, O'Sensei relied more on his preternatural brute strength rather than "good" technique to achieve his results. In fact, my instructor said that more than likely my aikido technique as a 4th kyu is in some ways "better" than that of the creator!

[Ed Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Stevens, who I must admit has written many great Aikido books, outdoes himself with this book. With a feeling of actual fondness, Stevens seems to capture Founder Morihei's human side without in any way diminishing his almost supernatural presence. This is a must read for any follower of the art.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the layout of the book, how it was divied into chapters, and that all the pictures were at the end. It was informative I just think it could have been displayed and organized in a better way.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on O'Sensei.

[Nicholas Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The definitive biography of the founder of Aikido.