These are suggests are from my personal book collection; I student Budo & Ninpo Taijutsu as well as Aikido and Judo, this suggested readings is not about promoting these arts of the others but to get deeper understand of what it means to be Budoka. I believe these writers good philosophical lessons about budo in their works.
Charles O. Lucas Dojo-cho and student of Budo.
Budo is the spiritual way of the martial arts that all practitioners must follow if they are to be true martial artists. In this book, Masaaki Hatsumi explores the very essence of Budo, and demonstrates an array of important techniques relating to this essence, explaining how the concept of Budo transcends any one combat technique and is at the core of all the many martial arts developed in Japan.
The author also reveals secret techniques and the hidden principles of the martial arts, and elucidates the words of his master, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, on Budo and life. Including many photos, works of calligraphy, illustrations, and documents on the martial arts and their role in Japanese culture, The Essence of Budo will resonate with practitioners of all martial traditions including judo, Aikido, karatedo, kendo, kenjutsu, jujutsu, and other fighting sports.
In Unarmed Fighting Techniques of the Samurai, world-renowned ninja grandmaster and bestselling author Masaaki Hatsumi explains the fundamentals of various unarmed techniques unique to the Japanese martial arts. Known as budo taijutsu, these specialized moves allow the practitioner to evade and receive an attack even from an opponent wielding a sword. Hatsumi covers such topics as Kihon Happo (Eight Basic Movements), Kosshijutsu (Attacks Against Muscles), Koppojutsu (Attacks Against Bones), Jutaijutsu (Flexible Body Arts), Daken Taijutsu (Fist Punching and Striking), Ninpo Taijutsu (Bodily Arts of the Ninja), discussing and demonstrating the many techniques which will enable the fighter to punch, kick and finally lock or control the body of his adversary.
As Hatsumi tells us, the techniques have been secretly passed down from the masters to their students for more than a century, and have become the foundations for a range of other martial arts including judo, karate and aikido. This book will thus enhance the reader’s understanding of the roots of these various disciplines as well as provide fascinating insights into the spirit of the way of the warrior and the martial arts. Includes over 300 step-by-step photos and rare drawings.
The ninja were the true embodiment of budo, the warrior spirit. Rather than using techniques of assassination to protect themselves, ninja relied on their senses, and on an acute awareness of their natural surroundings, In fact, ninja avoided unnecessary conflict, and used weapons such as knives and swords only as a last resort. These are the true techniques of ninjutsu, and the art in which the ninja unrelentingly trained.
In The Complete Ninja: The Secret World Revealed, Masaaki Hatsumi, the world’s most renowned ninja grandmaster and top budo master, creates a companion volume to his bestselling The Way of the Ninja. Like the earlier work, The Complete Ninja features hundreds of historical illustrations, documents, and photos (including many of the author demonstrating techniques) to explore the essence and wisdom of ninjutsu and reveal its hidden truths.
The Complete Ninja will help readers sharpen their perceptions and deepen their understanding of two core principles: that ninjutsu is the very backbone of the martial arts, and that it clarifies their essential spiritual significance. Since budo transcends any one particular martial tradition, all practitioners, whether they study judo, aikido, karate, kendo, kenjutsu, jujutsu, or other combative sports, will find the book fascinating and enlightening.
The study of budo, or the Japanese martial arts for self-cultivation, is a lifelong path toward perfection of character. Here, Dave Lowry, a sword master who has practiced and taught budo for over forty years, addresses the myriad issues, vagaries, and inconsistencies that arise for students of karate-do, judo, kendo, kenjutsu, aikido, and iaido as their training develops. He examines such questions as:
• What is the relationship between the student and teacher, and what should one expect from the other?
• What does rank really mean?
• How do you correctly and sensitively practice with someone less experienced than you?
• What does practice look like as one ages?
• Why do budo arts put such an emphasis on etiquette?
• And many others
Lowry also gives practical advice for beginning and advanced students on improving structural integrity in posture and movement, focusing under stress, stances and preparatory actions before engaging with an opponent, and recognizing a good teacher from a bad one.
In budo—which can be translated as "the way of brave and enlightened activity"—martial arts and spirituality merge at the highest level of skill. Budo Secrets contains the essential teachings of budo's greatest masters of Kendo, Karate, Judo, Aikido, and other disciplines. Timely and instructive, these writings are not just for martial artists—they're for anyone who wants to live life more courageously, with a greater sense of personal confidence and self-control, and with a deeper understanding of others.
John Stevens has gathered an eclectic and historically rich collection of teachings that include principles and practice guidelines from training manuals and transmission scrolls, excerpts of texts on budo philosophy, and instructional tales gathered from a number of sources. Since many of the martial arts masters were also fine painters and calligraphers and used brush and ink as a teaching medium, Stevens has included their artwork throughout with explanation and commentary.
Another good talk about Budo with focus on Aikido. Every Aikidoka should have copy of this book; other Martial artist outside of Aikido can get a deeper understanding of Budo from the Philosophy it contains.
Morihei Ueshiba is rightly known as one of the world's greatest martial artists for his creation of aikido, the synthesis of his superb technique and his profound spiritual insight into the nature of the universe. Aikido is much more than just another fighting style, it is a holistic approach to life that Morihei described as "a divine path inspired by the gods that leads to truth, goodness, and beauty." Sadly, Morihei left few writings to explain his martial arts philosophy, preferring to teach his disciples by direct example.
Aikido students will be familiar with photographs and film footage of Morihei as an old man, effortlessly defeating his much younger opponents, but very little has been published about Morihei's prewar years, when he was perfecting aiki-budo, as aikido was then known. In 1938 Morihei wrote Budo (Martial Way) as an instruction manual and a statement of the aims and spirit of his martial arts philosophy. Budo, however, was never made available to the general public, and it even contains the injunction that "these techniques ... should not be disclosed indiscriminately to the public."
Now with the worldwide popularity of aikido rivaling that of judo and karate-do, the Aikikai Foundation and the Ueshiba family have decided that it is time for this historic treatise of the martial arts to be translated into English, and made available to general readers and students of aikido all over the world. Reproduced faithfully from the original, this seminal work contains one of the founder's few personal statements of his basic principles, expressed both in prose and mystical poetry. The text is accompanied by photographs of Morihei illustrating the aikido techniques he describes.
This martial arts classic is preceded by an introductory biographical essay on Morihei by his son Kisshomaru Ueshiba, the present chairman of the Aikikai Foundation. This enlightening work recounts the founder's early life, his inspirational 'encounter with the religious mystic Onisaburo Deguchi, and the spiritual revelations that led him to develop the art of aikido.
The volume concludes with a series of action photographs of the founder demonstrating aikido techniques, taken at a private dojo in Tokyo in 1936. This section also includes selected photographs of Morihei in action in 1951. The more than 400 historic photographs shown here provide an unequalled opportunity to observe the lifelong devotion to aikido and the continuity of performance that characterized Morihei's approach to his art.