Book Review: Aikido Basics by Phong Thong Dang and‎ Lynn Seiser

About:
Aikido Basics: Everything you need to get started in Aikido – from basic footwork and throws to training by Phong Thong Dang and‎ Lynn Seiser is a basic guide to this martial art for those who want to learn more. Phong Thong Dang has multiple black belts in multiple arts (sixth degree in Aikido), and has been twice inducted into The World Martial Arts Hall of Fame. Mr. Seiser is a psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer, as well as a martial arts practitioner.

• 192 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804845875

My rating for Aikido Basics – 4
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More Books by Phong Thong Dang
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Thoughts:
Ever since I learned the basics of Judo, I found martial arts fascinating. To this day I credit Judo with teaching me how to fall and never breaking a bone regardless of my clumsy habits and overweight body type.

Several years later I heard about Aikido due to the popularity of Steven Seagal movies. The art looked great, throwing someone half way across the room with, what looked like, an effortless movement using the opponent’s movements against them.
But as we all know, Hollywood movies do not reflect reality.

The book talks about the origins of Aikido, the philosophy of the art, some basic instructions of stances, strikes, grabs, throws and pins. These are things you should be very careful if practicing without an instructor as you can easily get hurt and hurt your partner as well. For a beginner, one of the most useful sections in the book is what to expect out of an Aikido class. If you’re like me, you don’t like to walk in “blind” into a new environment, I like to learn all I can and keep the surprised to a minimum.

As with all martial arts, you cannot learn them from a book or a video. You have to be instructed by a qualified teacher and practice. After you finish practicing, you will realize how much you truly suck and practice some more. This book will allow you to understand what Aikido is about and see if you’d like to pursue it in your spare time.

Buy Aikido Basics from Amazon.com*
More Books by Phong Thong Dang
More Books by Lynn Seiser

Give­away

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