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.

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.

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.

Looking back almost 1,000 years, the mists of Japan's chaotic past shroud the development of a way of life, an ancient struggle waged against fierce feudal lords who ruled the island nation with swords of steel and a code of death before dishonor. The people of the mountainous regions of what is now Iga prefecture wanted to live in peace, but their lords had other plans-so the people learned the martial arts of self-defense and used their meager farm tools as weapons against the samurai blades of their oppressors. Nine traditions of the ninja arts grew out of this seemingly endless struggle, and legends were told of the supernatural abilities of the ninja fighters. The ninja never gained the kind of power that topples tyrants, but they gained a reputation that made tyrants cautious. And they gained the kind of power that makes the spirit endure and the mind the master of its fate. Told in actual stories of past grandmasters and in dojo lectures on techniques-with photographs, drawings, and paintings-the last surviving grandmaster of the ancient art of ninjutsu, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, presents Essence of Ninjutsu: The Nine Traditions. In it, he explains why, after more than 900 years, the art of the shadow warriors continues to inspire and serve practitioners from around the world. Dr. Hatsumi's book contains historic ninja scrolls and describes techniques for self-defense, and it debunks tricks that are attributed to the ninja but actually derive more from the circus than the martial arts. Essence of Ninjutsu is a fascinating, authoritative look at the roots of ninjutsu and how it continues to enrich the lives of its practitioners today. Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi is a bone doctor, artist, and writer, as well as the 34th grandmaster of the nine schools of the ninja arts in Japan. He has toured the United States in recent years to help Americans better understand the ninja and their way of life. His articles have appeared in all of the major martial arts magazines.