Total Aikido: The Master Course

by Gozo Shioda, Yasuhisa Shioda (Primary Contributor)

The basics are only a guiding principle.
Your strongest posture is the one that fits your constitution.
That cannot be taught to you, you have to find it for yourself.
It is not a question of widening your stance or narrowing it,
if the truth be told.
But, people will do what is comfortable for them, so if you allow them to,
they will just make it up for themselves.
That is why, you must always return to the basics.
This is what is important.
-Gozo Shioda


Aikido students and enthusiasts the world over will be delighted with this English translation of Gozo Shioda's
"hidden principles," finally made available by the Yoshinkan school of aikido. An outstanding student of aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba, Shioda, who taught thousands of people in his lifetime, left a profound legacy, successfully teaching the spiritual and practical applications of a martial art
that could all too easily become mired in one or the other.

In this sequel to Dynamic Aikido , the preeminent master continues his explanation of the essential principles but in finer detail. Comprehensive and fully illustrated, Total Aikido covers the basic postures and movements with special emphasis on certain key points for perfecting one's technique to
achieve maximum effect with the minimum of effort. Demonstrations are provided in a dojo setting, with helpful pointers for avoiding common mistakes. To enable students to develop greater strength and control, they are shown how to increase their speed, shift their center of gravity, and synchronize
movements with those of their opponents.

This is an essential work for students of all levels, a treasury of expert information.

Genres: Martial Arts, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1997

Reviews

[Steve Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointment. Shioda’s style was said to be more reflective of what pre-War aikido looked like, and supposedly had more practical self defense applications. Not in this book.

We see Shioda himself “throwing” people with implausible techniques with the captions offering meaningless pseudo-philosophical ramblings as a way of explanation of the technique.

The formalized attacks are invalid in any self defense context, and require the uke’s full cooperation to be “successful”. Never fear...there are instructions for prospective use so they can know how to respond. In truth, if a thug off the street came in to this dojo and was given a brief fifteen second explanation of the attack desired, the sht’te (defender would fail.

Not ten percent of this book has anything in it of use in self defense, and that would have to be adapted.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are hundreds of aikido technical books on the market.It is my opinion that for any aikidoka searching for this material they need look no further than this book.
Obviously it's Yoshinkan material but a student from any discipline would benefit from the precise and exact explanations of the art presented in this book.
They deserve to be shelved alongside the Saito Sensei series on Traditional Aikido.5 volumes examine every aspect of Iwama style aikido including the weapons work.Though they seem to have gone out of print or are ridiculously expensive on E-Bay. Yet they can be easily downloaded online.
Though from different schools Shioda and Saito books are the premier technical manuals on this fascinating art.Both works stress exact precision and are suffused with the spirit of Shugyo,missing from more modern works.

[Martyn Halm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gozo Shioda was one of the first students of the founder of Aikido, who started his own dojo and style before the war and before Ueshiba got a revelation that made the aikikai style more rounded and soft. The Yoshinkan school of Shioda attracted more people who wanted to use practical aikido in their (often more violent) daily life. Shioda trained the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and his style became known as Police Aikido, based on the more linear style and harder application.

Recommended for aikidoka who enjoy a more practical application of their martial art.

[Darin]

Gozo Shioda was a student of Morihei Ueshiba and as the case with many of them, his techniques are much harder than the softer versions of aikido that are so popular now. Each technique is shown as a series of pictures but, unlike Dynamic Aikido, Gozo Shioda is not shown as the tore in most pictures.

[Rainier · Rating 5 out of 5]

breath taking

[Supe]

More technique. Gozo Shioda was the sensei of my sensei, Toshishiro Obata.

A little to hard-style Aikido if you ask me.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complete summary of attacks and defenses, with pictures, theory, and common mistakes. Valuable reference.

[WIZE FOoL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for nailing the basics.
With all the detailed photos you will easily be able to follow the basic strands, movements and techniques.
The principles are also explained well.
it is no substitute for a good teacher and going to class.
Yet it is a great book for all practitioners, be it as a beginner working your way through the basics, or as an intermittent for a fresher through what you've covered.
It's well written with no waffle.
I've no doubt I'll be picking it up again in the future.
Enjoy!!!