He observes their blood splattered pyjamas and the way they stand to attention when ‘not executing a technique’. You don't think (in contrast to many "I did something wacky" memoirs) that it was a project mainly to publish a book all along; something which can be fatal to the sincerity of the book. An extremely effective way to dissuade one from wanting to learn serious Aikido (a Japanese self defense art from the Samurai). Adrift in Tokyo, teaching giggling Japanese highschool girls how to pronounce Tennyson correctly, Robert Twigger came to a revelation about himself: he'd never been fit.

Angry White Pyjamas - writing, micromastery, polymathy Angry White Pyjamas - writing, micromastery, polymathy

The spiritual part, which is what makes this sport distinct, is mentioned in passing and always about pain and death rather than channeling your energy. Part of what the training is about is not only how to dish out the technique but also how to protect yourself by blending with it. Yoshinkan Aikido is a pretty small world it seems, and some of the characters in this book, although sometimes given a kind of fear/awe-filled celebrity by Twigger, are likely to cross your path if you take up the art. At the end of the story, Twigger takes the black belt test, passes, and then also goes on to take the teacher’s test – enabling him to tutor other individuals. The portrayal of some of the people Twigger trains with isn't very flattering, but let's face it, we all know the martial arts world has its fair share of unadjusted people and nutcases.As a newer student of aikido after years of Okinawan karate, I especially appreciated the art being treated as a self defense intended to protect (and to damage, if necessary), rather than a wishy-washy, overly precious philosophy. Salzman, who wrote in a more "gee-whiz" style (for lack of a better term) with more emphasis on China's people and wushu.

Angry White Pyjamas - Twigger, Robert: 9780753808580 - AbeBooks Angry White Pyjamas - Twigger, Robert: 9780753808580 - AbeBooks

Not knowing his fist from his elbow, the author is sucked into the world of Japanese martial arts and joins the Tokyo Riot Police on their year-long, brutally demanding course of budo training, where any ascetic motivation soon comes up against blood-stained "white pyjamas" and fractured collarbones. Each book is a fascinating snapshot of a particular era, culture, and martial art style (Aikido, Wushu, and Karate). Twigger spends most of his time describing the rigor and sometimes agony of the very intensive course. I knew I couldn't afford the luxury of such thinking if I was going to stick it out for the whole year.Publication date 1999 Topics Twigger, Robert, Riot control -- Japan -- Tokyo, Police training -- Japan -- Tokyo, Police training, Riot control, Social conditions, Japan -- Social conditions -- 1945-, Japan, Japan -- Tokyo Publisher London : Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Pub. Kung Fu was badly taught, Judo was now a sport, Shotokan Karate ruined the knees and Tai Chi was for housewives, unless you found an authentic teacher, when it became the deadliest art. PDF] [EPUB] Angry White Pyjamas: A Scrawny Oxford Poet Takes Lessons from the Tokyo Riot Police Download by Robert Twigger. I especially loved this piece of wisdom from one sensei (I need to revisit the text to remind myself who said it - Paul, maybe? Poor and disilusioned, living in a cheap apartment with a couple of other random gajins, he finally decides to discover the value of self by signing up for a course in martial arts.

Angry White Pyjamas - AbeBooks - Twigger 9780753808580: Angry White Pyjamas - AbeBooks - Twigger

The book naturally takes its course through these 11 months as we hear about how Twigger fits into the group taking the course, as well as the wider Dojo family.Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. I really enjoyed this book, largely because I used to live in Japan and saw many of my experiences played out before me in this novel. It may not be accurate, but it is an excellent piece of literature, clever, and highly entertaining.