Rating: 
Summary: Great description of one person's Japanese experience
Review: So it may not be the most accurate description of the Japanese culture, so what? Angry White Pyjamas is an excellent account of one person's somewhat extreme experience of Japan. The author of the book, Robert Twigger, an awarded poet from England goes to Japan as means of escaping the boring corporate reality. In Japan he hopes to find that his life means something. He begins his experience as an Engish teacher in Japan. Shortly afterwards, his job is reduced to a part-time, one day per week position. 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. Once a member of a dojo, he realizes that he wants to push himself to the extreme limit of his mental and physical ability. As a result, he signs up for the super-ultra-tough course, usually taken by candidates for the Tokyo riot police. Insanity ensues as he learns martial arts every day for almost 11 months amongst pain, sweat, complaining of fellow students, and constant cultural faux pas. Personally, I'm not sure how accurate is Twigger's descriptionon of the fighting, the food, and the cultural differences, but one must admit that whatever he writes, it is written in the most excellent style. Twigger keeps an eye out for details in the Japanese lifestyles and describes them from the point of view of an overly enthusiastic yet naive foreigner. The account of the training keeps the reader constantly wondering whether Twigger will be able to finish the course. After all, the pain, the unfriendliness, and seemintly little payback seem overwhelming. This book is not only for martial arts fans nor fans of the Japanese culture. I am only slightly interested in these topics, however, I found the book very engaging. It may not be accurate, but it is an excellent piece of literature, clever, and highly entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A great, inspiring book. I mean, this isn't a meaningful piece of art or anything like that, but it's pure enjoyment as a read. A must-have for any aikido practicioner - this motivated me like nothing else - the next few practice sessions after reading this book were as fun as any I had done. This review is mostly to counter the negative reviews interspersed here with the positive ones. I for one never felt the author was disparaging the people he was writing about unjustly. I just enjoyed this, simple and plain.
Rating:
Summary: Pain & blood on the path to self-enlightenment
Review: A unique perspective of Japanese martial arts as seen by a gaijin in Japan. I've practiced martial arts since 1985 and found the story to be quite insightful and accurate as to the mental states and personalities of those people to found at a typical dojo. The motivations and thoughts of someone like the author to pursue a course like this are, while not unique, usually not captured in such a sure and accurate way. A thoroughly enjoyable read by those who take martial arts or just want an insight into another aspect of Japanese culture. Also, a great insight into the minds and thoughts of men; this is a man's journey into himself and what he will endure to discover a truth about himself.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: A very enjoyable, amusing read. I found it refreshing that the author never lost his sense of humor throughout what sounds like a very difficult year of training. Quite frankly, I found the book inspiring. It helps knowing that while you're training, there are others who undoubtedly have it worse (or perhaps better?). Aside from the martial arts perspective, I also thought it was a very interesting portrait of a foreigner's life in Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Happy written Papers
Review: An excellent book. It provides an interesting look at the world of Aikido and the hint of the world of professionals using the art. It definitely provides a different attitude towards training that most of the chop-socky books out there.
Rating: 
Summary: a fascinating account
Review: Approaching thirty years old, Robert Twigger was teaching English in Japan and came to the realization that he has never been fit nor brave. Not only does he decide to rectify this by learning some martial arts, he seeks out the toughest course available: the year-long Riot Police course in aikido. My own idle thoughts about how tough a course like this might be were dwarfed by the brutal reality. This fascinating account details many of the hardships the Riot Police students (senshusei) endure if they are to make it through the course. Never mind the broken bones, strains, and constant bruises, when Twigger got to the part about wearing all the skin off his knees repeatedly, I thought that only a masochist would willingly sign up for this course. (Personally, I'm going to stick to racquet sports.) I started reading this book one late night after 11pm (on a work night) and read 30 pages before forcing myself to put it down and go to bed. Angry White Pyjamas was a gripping read. I suppose the author did feel braver after the Riot Police course because a year later he began training as a bullfighter in Spain.
Rating:
Summary: Eye of the Budoka
Review: As a newly minted ShoDan in Shiho Karano Karate, I have to be skilled in knowledge as well as technique. To that end, I've been reading a number of books about the martial arts. One part of that genre are the autobiographical accounts of Budo practitioners. I want to gain deeper insight through what others have experienced, learned, and how they changed as a result of martial arts training. "Angry White Pyjamas" is one such tale, written by a Brit who studied Aikido in Japan during the 90s. Robert Twigger, a disaffected thirtysomething teaching English to Tokyo high school girls, decides that he is incomplete as a man without some sort of physical challenge. Martial arts training appears to fit the bill, so he and his two expiate roommates enroll in a local aikido dojo. While taking regular classes, Mr. Twigger is drawn to the dojo's toughest mode of aikido instruction: an intense yearlong course normally taken by Japanese Kidotai (riot police) as a job requirement. Despite his initial misgivings and warnings from others about the course's difficulty, he goes for it and resolves to finish no matter what. "Angry White Pyjamas" chronicles Mr. Twigger's struggle to prove himself by successfully completing the Kidotai Aikido course.
Mr. Twigger makes many observations about his life and Japanese culture both in and out of the dojo, so there's lots of exposition compared to, say, "Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol. Also unlike Sensei Nicol, Mr. Twigger is not wholeheartedly enraptured by Japanese culture. He has a more postmodern viewpoint, so his anecdotes are not filtered through rose-colored glasses. But humor leavens much of his story, and there's no disrespect or Western condescension. As one who was stationed in mainland Japan from '88 to '90, I enjoyed the reminders his recollections provoked (funky food, navigating the extensive train system, hanging out in Roppongi, etc.). Mr. Twigger also makes the other folks he encounters come alive through his writing; his slacker roommates Fat Frank and Chris are particularly priceless. But the most interesting aspect of "Angry White Pyjamas" is Mr. Twigger's search for validation as a male through overcoming adversity. He reminded me of an "Iron John" or "Wild at Heart" kind of guy, looking for affirmation of his masculinity via completion of the brutal riot police course. As a former Marine and current martial artist, I identified and sympathized with his quest. The course was a rite of passage for Mr. Twigger, and I rooted for him every step of the way. Many times he came close to quitting due to constant pain, injuries, fatigue, interpersonal conflicts, and his own perceived ineptitude with aikido. But despite these hardships he didn't give up, and for that I commend and respect him.
I read "Angry White Pyjamas" in conjunction with "Iron and Silk" by Mark Salzman and "Moving Zen" by C.W. Nicol to get multiple perspectives on martial arts training. It's interesting to compare and contrast Mr. Twigger's 90s presuppositions and experiences with those of Mr. Salzman's in the 80s and Sensei Nicol's in the early 60s. Each book is a fascinating snapshot of a particular era, culture, and martial art style (Aikido, Wushu, and Karate). But despite their different philosophies, motivations, and levels of immersion, all of these men achieved personal growth and maturation through practicing the martial arts in a persevering fashion. I found that to be inspiring, and so I recommend all three books.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining and fun to read
Review: Basically, a very entertaining read. Light bedtime reading for anyone interested in foreign travel and martial arts.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and appallingly honest
Review: Caveat: I don't practice aikido nor do I live in Japan. Overall, I found the book amusing. I enjoyed the game he played with his Iranian friend as well as the discussion of his friend's missing drawers. Tho' I've one minor quibble, to a one, everyone I know who does Shorinji Kempo are all on the same page in assuring me its not a cult. On a more serious note, I especially enjoyed his description of the training. ... it seems people are offended for three over-arching reasons--they/their instructor/their colleagues are portrayed less than ideally, aikido isn't portrayed as a land of Ki Society milk and honey, or the Japanese aren't portrayed as a group of hyper-rational, hyper-polite salarymen. ... ... In my subject, I used the term appallingly honest because I doubt Twigger realized the gravity of his sins--airing his, the Yoshinkan's, and Japanese society's dirty drawers in public. After all, only a gauche foreigner who never made the effort would bring this up publicly. He forgot he was supposed to write about the glory of his adversity, the glorious mythology of his teachers, and the grandeur of Japan. Anything else would be unacceptable. Looking back, I suspect the story over his roommate's missing undies is symbolic. In my experience in another Japanese system, instructors and training compadres often were a tad loopy and sometimes borderline mean and sometimes, well, just plain old fashioned mean. Likewise, in my experience training with aikidoka, they're the ones who come the closest to actually injuring me. For a while, I thought I was alone in noticing this, but I've heard others, including my aiki friends, say the same thing.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read loaded w/ great caricatures & witticisms
Review: Don't let the cover of this book turn you off. While it is about the author's experiences in the martial arts, it is not a martial arts book per se. It's not about technique. There aren't 100 pictures showing various stances, blocks, and throws. Mr. Twigger talks about his life during this period, the wonderful characters he meets along the way, and the grueling demands of the Tokyo Riot Police training course. He writes in a language that is engaging and witty. I found that I was laughing at his characterizations and wincing in pain at his descriptions of the impact this training had on his body. If you are expecting a book on aikido techniques, or you're confused by the title and think this is a book about using bleach in your laundry, you will be disappointed. If, however, you would like to read the memoirs of an English poet engaged in some of the most brutal training around ... if you want to be introduced to characters you instantly feel an affinity for ... if you just want an engaging book that you can't put down ... you'll love this book.
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