Book: "Transparent Power" (Sagawa Yukiyoshi) book translated

[morpheus]

Discovering Aiki: My 20 years with Sagawa Yukiyoshi

http://www.budovideos.com/shop/custo...67&cat=&page=1

Jeff

[Nathan Scott]

[Post deleted by user]

[morpheus]

Mr. Scott,

Thanks for the information. I have a copy of Discovering Aiki and have read it a number of times. I was a bit leery of making a purchase thinking that the material would be the same.

Thanks
Jeff

[Nathan Scott]

[Post deleted by user]

[Grant Periott]

I very much appreciate the material in this book, there are some controversial opinions expressed but I think that such a dedicated master such as Sagawa sensei is entitled to his opinions. The insights into Sagawa sensei and Takeda sensei are valubale to any dedicated student of the martial arts but particularly to all students of Aiki. This book will definately remain in my library!

[Nathan Scott]

[Post deleted by user]

[Rev]

Quote:
“Bujutsu is not something that you’ll necessarily become good at after a number of years, nor is anyone else going to make you strong. You must tell yourself that you will never allow anyone to defeat you; then you must back up that conviction with training. It won’t do any good to simply repeat the forms of the techniques. They should be steeled with your intention to defeat your opponent. Ultimately, it boils down to a battle between souls. This is true no matter what you do. No matter how much a fainthearted person practices, when push comes to shove, he’s completely helpless. When it comes to actual combat, it’s a matter of cutting or being cut. If you’re timid you’ll be cut right from the get-go.” - Sagawa Yukiyoshi

Regards,

I have this book on the way as we speak. If the above quote is anything to go on, then I think I'll be pleasantly rewarded regarding the books content.

Let you know.

Wayne

[Jose Garrido]

As I stated previously. I really liked this book. It does inspire IMO people who have been training for a long time and beginners. I have recommended it to everyone in my group and they have not been disappointed.

I will probably start reading it for the 3rd time over the summer. I got something different from it each of the 2 times that I read it.

But once again this is just my opinion.

Jose Garrido

[Kendoguy9]

Hey Nathan et al,

I read the comments on Amazon.com a few days before you posted this. It sounds like they were expecting a step by step on every exercise Sagawa sensei did with photos and maybe even a DVD included, I dunno. I found the book to be useful for both its historical information as well as some of the insights you can gather about how Sagawa sensei trained. I'll be honest some of the pages where he just waxes on about who he beat and what judo rank they had got a little slow, but it does make his point well. It is very inspiring to read about a man in his 90's who trains harder then most in their 20's. Just reading about some of the tools he trained with such as iron pipes and large hammers should give a great deal of insight into what he may have been doing. The book is peppered with useful hints about how to train the body and the mind. Good book worth the $$.

just my thoughts though,

[Hissho]

Again, great quote. Is there more of this mental attitude stuff in there? Anyone know did Sagawa have any life/death fighting experience?

I would also point out that he seems to be speaking directly to the "will to prepare to win" versus the "will to win." The point about him being in his 90s and training harder than 20 year olds is telling.

We all want that will. Lots of us "think" we have it. But do we? Do we put the time in to get in physical condition? How is our flexibility? Do we gas out during basic warmups? Can we actually see our feet or does our gut hang over it?

The lack of will to stay in basic physical condition does not bode well for manifesting the will to fight that battle of souls. We can pretend it does, all the while chasing "internal power," but it doesn't.

Maybe that is the difference betweent the folks who do it as an interesting set of exercises, and those who are able to transfer it to the combative arena?

[Nathan Scott]

[Post deleted by user]

[Hissho]

Facing a knife, and engaging, would definitely be the kind of thing I am thinking.

For lack of a better way of putting it, what he is saying in that quote (or at least in the translation), resonates of either direct personal experience - or something of that properly transmitted.

[Steve Wood]

Anyone know did Sagawa have any life/death fighting experience?

As one of my teachers once asked, what great fighters did he defeat? Same idea. My teacher also told me to ask that of the people who are engaged in discussions about someone better than them. Everyone is a Monday morning quarterback it seems. And a lot of people clamp their wagon to the star of someone whos skill they don't even have but who they want to be associated with. In other words, beware of these types of discussions. Its usually a trap leading to someones ego. Me, I take what clues I can but I avoid the sneaky discussions because I see the hidden agandas.

Steve Wood

[Hissho]

Its not at all the same idea.

At least not what I was getting at. What he says had a particular meaning - for me - that reveals either a direct personal knowledge of something, or that someone with that knowledge was able to convey the true meaning of it to him.

You mighta missed my hidden agenda....

[jdostie]

"Aiki is not myterious. It is based on real principle." (pg 144)

"Without Aiki, martial arts techniques are merely about power. Aiki reaally is mysterious, isn't it?' (pg 148)

A sensei if I ever heard one . . .


"A person who is rigid and tense is alraedy hopeless." (pg 154)
This discribes me pretty well - I hope I'm not hopeless.

Nathan, to your question, a lot of it seemed like self agrandisment - beating this person or that, resisting being thown down by Takeda Sensei, and also comparing his aiki favorably to Takeda's. On the other hand, I thought, if he's really that good, as I sometimes get the impression . . .
But all in all, what this book does is makes me want to train harder, and really want to learn aiki. Which I would guess is the real value of a book like this - at least to me.