Seeking the Unicorn: Philosophical and Psychoanalytical Insights into the Practice and Teaching of Aikido

In "Seeking the Unicorn" Dr. Tzechovoy brings to bear vibrant life the interwoven physical and psychological transformations that take place within the body and self of the long-term practitioner of martial arts. He guides the reader to understanding these experiences via a juncture of psychoanalysis, Western philosophy and his own many years of practice as a martial artist. The book follows the slow progression and development from student to teacher in a traditional school of aikido. The author elaborates on seemingly insignificant events of training and practice while shedding an originally new light on their inner value, infusing them with entirely different meanings to the conventional interpretation of martial arts in general and aikido in particular. An unassuming encounter with Chiba sensei's has become a unique gift that thoroughly transformed Dr. Tzechovoy's inmost self; a small remark on the behalf of Chiba sense's teacher; O-Sensei leads him to deep investigation into the relationship between Japanese teachers and their students, investigation that illuminates the role of such rapport in creating an independent and mature human being. Dr. Tzechovoy belongs to the Birankai school of aikido. He pays tribute to the writings of T.K. Chiba Sensei and to the experiences shared with him on and off the mat. However, practitioners of all types of martial arts will see their own experiences and challenges, critically yet constructively, examined and clarified in “Seeking the Unicorn".