This is an excellent book for people new to Aikido or even people who just want to know a bit about Aikido. It would also be of value to teachers of Aikido (which would include senior students who need to work with beginners). The book is well written and is packed full of amusing and insightful quotes (and longer pieces) from other Aikodokas (students of Aikido).
A brief table of contents:
1. Introducing Aikido -- discusses what Aikido is and is not equipment, etiquette, learning and teaching.)
2. A Brief Ki Class -- Introduces the "ki" in Aikido. Ki is a combination of attitudes and basic principles that underlie the art.
3. Aikido Class -- How to warm up for Aikido (getting the body ready is important as I learned the hard way)
4. Rolling, Falling and Flying -- Most of the time one person is "throwing" and the other is falling. Learning how to fall without getting hurt is an important skill in Aikido (and everyday life for that matter)
5. Grabs and Strikes -- The basic "attacks" used to trigger the Aikido defenses.
6. Locks and Throws -- The basic Aikido defenses
7. Weapons and Toys -- A tiny taste of Aikido weapons technique (a high-level topic) and other ways to train.
8. Off the Mat, In Real Life -- Basic ways to apply the attitudes to life. Includes a very interesting section on verbal self-defense.
The chapter on stretching has some useful material on the effects of muscle tightness which can lead to pain that is felt both in the offending muscle but also quite some distance away.
The latter part of the book goes through many of the basic Aikido techniques. Each move it demonstrates also contains a reference to the technique two other good Aikido books:
Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere: An Illustrated Introduction
and
Total Aikido: The Master Course (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior)
. This is very useful since one problem with Aikido is there a a number of different schools which differ in some ways, particularly in how they name the techniques.
If you're just starting out or maybe just want to get the lay of the land before finding a dojo, then this is the book I would recommend starting with. If you get into it you would probably want the Dynamic Sphere book and then the Total Aikido book. These will provide you with outside information for many years of study and training.
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