Angry White Pyjamas (Robert Twigger)
The Story in a Nutshell
Set in Japan in the 1990’s, Twigger describes his time spent in Tokyo, living with 2 friends, and on the 11th month Yoshinkan Senshusei course at the Yoshinkan Hombu Dojo. The course takes you from white to black belt in Aikido, training up future instructors.
In Summary
This book is an excellent portrayal of someone seeing a martial art for the first time, and details perfectly the experience of starting as a novice and learning the martial art, becoming better and learning more as time goes on.
Twigger skillfully describes the “magic” that Aikido practitioners seem to possess, manipulating their opponents with ease. As he starts to learn this magic for himself, the reader learns more about the art as well. The reader also feels Twigger’s pain and suffering, as he trains for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week for 11 months.
As well as being an excellent book on the topic of martial arts, Twigger also describes his life in Tokyo as a foreigner, his relationships with his friends, his fellow Aikido students, and also his hapless love life.
This book is guaranteed to have you plotting ways in which you can take 11 months off work and move to Japan, inspiring you to train full time, as well as Googling the dojo and the instructors. A must for anyone involved in any Japanese martial art.
Rating: 5/5
Author: The Bear Martial Arts Team
