Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts: Its Fundamental Relations Vol.1

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0870409344, Paperback)

Foreword
Japanese Aikido and Chinese martial arts are different from each other, but each has its own strong points. Chinese martial arts places stress on strength, speed and rhythm, and attaches great importance to the attack-defense meaning of movements, while Aikido pays much attention to a high degree of coordination of the two partners. On viewing the training of Aikido, some enthusiasts of Chinese martial arts get a feeling that it seems flashy without substance and worthless for practical purposes because of a lack of attack-defense meaning which is essential to martial skills. Conversely, most Japanese martial experts are disappointed in Chinese martial arts and think of it as a showy play. They believe that the true essence of martial arts of ancient times have been lost. However, these ideas are inaccurate.

I have been practicing Chinese martial arts for more than fifteen years. I began studying Aikido three years ago and I now hold a third degree black belt. In my opinion, Chinese martial arts is such a vigorous and energy-consuming exercise that it is difficult to be accepted in developed areas where the working and living pace is high. As for the Aikido of today, it seems that too much stress is laid on health-building, and on harmoniousness and smoothness of movement. The attack-defense meaning which was once distinct has now dimmed, so it doesn't seem very practical.

During the past three years, I have read and studied "Exercises of Martial Arts- Aikido" written by Morihei Ueshiba, the originator of Aikido, several times, and I can savour the intense meaning of attack-defense in every movement described in the book, as I can in the movements of Chinese martial arts. Now I wish to introduce the awareness of attack-defense of Chinese martial arts to Japanese Aikido so as to enrich it and enhance its value of health-building.

This book is composed of two parts, Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts. With regard to Chinese martial arts. fundamental skills are introduced in Volume I and Volume II, and theoretical analysis in Volume III. This book will lead readers to combine Chinese martial arts with Japanese Aikido and in doing so they will become acquainted with the fundamental skills of Chinese martial arts. I hope that this book will become an envoy of peace, enhancing the friendship between Chinese and Japanese people and facilitating exchange between all the enthusiasts of martial arts in the world. That is the main purpose of this book.
I wish to dedicate this book to my dear father whom I love very much.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my teacher, Miss Yanling Xing who, with over ten years of painstaking instruction, has guided me in the life of martial arts. Many thanks are also due to Mr. Tetsutaka Sugawara who has offered great energies to the publication of this book.

Luijian Xing
Tokyo, Japan
October, 1995