Aikido Encyclopedia

I used this when it first came out. It helped me to get to shodan. I am so glad it’s been updated to work on my current iPhone.

Note that this app is comparatively pricey, so expectations are high. These are my first impressions. Videos are grainy and old looking (many are time-stamped as January 2000), with dusty, airplane-hanger audio quality. They are categorized by technique and can be added to playlists. They mostly are shot from one perspective, very often WITHOUT showing more than one variation (e.g., only ura, no omote, etc). So they are of limited help when preparing for kyu tests. There is no section for suwari waza; they're may be some buried in different techniques, but not the ones I've been looking for so far. Same for hamni handache. There ARE weapons included (jo and bokken). I have not had a chance to go through thoroughly yet, but I am impressed so far in its breadth and scope. (My dojo, Old City Aikido, is very weapons-focused.) In summary, kudos for the weapons inclusion; not cool to omit bread and butter stuff like omote AND ura vriations; very dated video technology and limited angles. NOT worth $9.99.

I am the chief instructor of an aikido school and include the AIKIDO ENCYCLOPEDIA app on the schools list of suggested reference materials supplied to students. The techniques presented cover the technical body required for promotion through second degree black. Each technique is presented clearly, generally with multiple applications. The individual videos are indexed by both the techniques and by the attacks, which facilitates easy reference by the student. All in all, I have found the Aikido Encyclopedia app to be a worthwhile investment.