Читать книгу Complete Aikido. Aikido Kyohan: The Definitive Guide to the Way of Harmony онлайн

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Yoko Heffner kindly provided the kanji that begin every chapter—gokuro sama deshita, Yoko-san.

Special thanks to my wife, Jackie, for her proofreading, suggestions, support, encouragement, and belief, and to my parents, Charles and Betty Watson, for raising me to walk the Path.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to Roy Yukio Suenaka Sensei for inestimably enriching my life, and for affording me the honor of assisting in this enterprise. Your friendship and tutelage are true blessings for which I shall be forever grateful. May this work serve as a humble gift of thanks for everything you have unselfishly given to me, and to us all.

Christopher Watson

INTRODUCTION

Not that long ago, aikido books were scarce. You might have found a few classics at a decent martial arts supply store, but not many. Aikido schools were scarcer still—unless you lived in or near a large city, your chances of finding one were slim. Today, however, things are different. Aikido has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity over the last twenty years or so. You can find books on aikido at the bookstore in your local mall, and a check of the Yellow Pages™ will undoubtedly turn up at least one school within reasonable commuting distance.