Rating: 
Summary: Utterly Authentic Experience
Review: Having lived in Japan for nearly a decade and trained in modern and ancient Japanese martial arts I have to say Angry White Pyjamas is one of the most authentic accounts ever published of what it feels like to train in a serious dojo in Japan. The Yoshinkan has a fierce reputation among martial arts insiders - along with the JKA and the Kodokan it is a candidate for the toughest school in Japan. Twigger brilliantly illustrates the daily pain and struggle with the desire to give up which is so close to my own experience. What some may not like is the fly on the wall view he gives of his dojo - insiders in Japan do not in general reveal the secrets of their institutions and most traditional Japanese dojo prefer to keep a low profile....but I came away from this book admiring (most) of the teachers and wanting to train in Yoshinkan aikido. Although I am biased towards Japan I felt it was equal to Iron & Silk, or even had the edge.Simply one of the tiny number of real accounts about martial arts to add to Draeger; Dave Lowry and Nichol's Moving Zen.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and appallingly honest
Review: Having spent two years in Japan and also as a martial arts practitioner (though not aikido) I very much enjoyed this tale of one western ex-pat's experiences. It was a humorous and enjoyable read.
However, I did begin to question the accuracy and truthfulness of his accounts having come across several items I knew to be factually incorrect. For example, in speaking about Gracie juijitsu and the UFC he was incorrect on many accounts. Gracie's grandfather did not travel to Japan to learn the art. In actuality, Royce Gracie's uncle learned it from a Japanese instructor who had emigrated to Brazil. The author repeatedly called the UFC the Ultimate Fighting Challenge, when in fact it's the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Royce's fight against Kimo, described in the book, did not take place in Tokyo and didn't end by choke, but by armbar. And the author's contention that third degree black belts and above are registered with the police is false. These errors seem to indicate either blatant falsehoods or poor research. Errors in these types of things do make me look at the book as a whole in a somewhat curious light as to what other liberties were taken with actual events.
Overall, an entertaining, enjoyable read that I'd advise to take with an extremely large grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: Very entertaining; factually questionable
Review: Having spent two years in Japan and also as a martial arts practitioner (though not aikido) I very much enjoyed this tale of one western ex-pat's experiences. It was a humorous and enjoyable read.
However, I did begin to question the accuracy and truthfulness of his accounts having come across several items I knew to be factually incorrect. For example, in speaking about Gracie juijitsu and the UFC he was incorrect on many accounts. Gracie's grandfather did not travel to Japan to learn the art. In actuality, Royce Gracie's uncle learned it from a Japanese instructor who had emigrated to Brazil. The author repeatedly called the UFC the Ultimate Fighting Challenge, when in fact it's the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Royce's fight against Kimo, described in the book, did not take place in Tokyo and didn't end by choke, but by armbar. And the author's contention that third degree black belts and above are registered with the police is false. These errors seem to indicate either blatant falsehoods or poor research. Errors in these types of things do make me look at the book as a whole in a somewhat curious light as to what other liberties were taken with actual events.
Overall, an entertaining, enjoyable read that I'd advise to take with an extremely large grain of salt.
Rating: 
Summary: A Pleasure on Many Levels
Review: I admit, I am a beginning Aikidoka. But this book works on so many more levels than that. It is an interesting outsiders view of a culture that I've always been curious about, but may never have the chance to experience first-hand. Mr. Twigger writes with a wonderful mix of humor and honesty. I was unable to put it down until the last page. I just hope we get to hear about the trip to Mexico! By the way, my fiance is reading the book now. She's loving it, too and she has NOTHING to do with Aikido.
Rating:
Summary: oddly inspirational
Review: I am a dedicated and even somewhat obsessive student of budo and especially aikido. Still, this irreverent book is one of my favourites. One of the reviewers here wrote that it's "oddly inspirational"; I couldn't agree more. Why "oddly" ? Well, it's a honest and a funny book. As you might have noticed from some of the angrier reviews, Twigger will not feed you the urban legends and "samurai-er than thou" stories which - unfortunately - many people with an interest in martial arts seem to relish. No miraculous stories about the wonders of ki here ! No Sensei worship ! I laughed my head off when I read about Twigger's and his friends' joy when the founder of their dojo dies during a period of particularly gruelling lessons (suwari-waza, ouch !) and their dojo has to close for a few days, giving them the necessary time to nurse their knees back to health. For the lay-person's benefit, in the martial arts world, this kind of attitude is the pinnacle of heresy and expresses a complete lack of "the right attitude". 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. Twigger isn't particularly flattering about himself and his friends either, by the way. I also found Twigger's description of Japanese society and mores interesting. If you're worried by one of the other reviewers statement that Twigger is a racist and a homophobe, don't worry, it's just PC hysteria. What is inspirational about this book is that it shows what real training is like. It's hard work. It's frustrating. You quickly have to understand you're not Bruce Lee (well, I'm not, and Twigger isn't either), and it takes much energy to try to (slowly) become better instead of just giving up and finding a pursuit more adapted to your genius. You have to work with and even learn from other people whom you might not always totally like and respect. Basically, you have to accept that nothing is perfect in the real world, not you, not your partners, not even Sensei, and still strive for perfection. I think that message is much more valuable than any martial arts fairytale.
Rating:
Summary: Great Tales of a Warrior Poet
Review: I bought this book on an impulse and wish all my impulse buys were this good. I train in Kendo and the Japanese Riot Police have a fearsome Kendo reputation - training at a Kidotai dojo is something many Kendoka talk about with dread and awe - so I was curious to see what they were like in Aikado. (Okay, I confess I was also hoping for some insights into Kendo - the word was in the glossary of the book so I thought...) Really enjoyed the book - great look at the tough physical and mental environment in a dojo but balanced with insightful and witty comments about the 'human' side of the training and martial artists. Mr Twigger has some interesting comments about Japanese culture and attitudes. I liked his attempt to be factual and not force his interpretation down our throats. Obviously he provides his opinions - which I found very useful - but he expresses (and practices) a reluctance to read too much or describe his view as definitive. Congratulations to Robert Twigger for giving me an idea about the hard edge of martial arts training in Japan, about the people who train, and on successfully 'surviving' his training. Thanks for also introducing me to Tesshu and the Hagakure. On yeah, I did pick up some insights about Kendo training too.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable reading but its not a book on Aikido or Japan
Review: I enjoyed the book and, as light entertainment, it is a good read. However, I found it over simplified the Japanese culture it tried to explain and while it did illustrate certain aspects of Japanese martial arts, these were often glossed over. As "light reading" Twigger-san has done a good job and if you buy the book to read his story you should not be disappointed. If, however, you are looking for an insight into aikido, the martial arts or Japan, you risk disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Nice glimpse of the real Japan and of Aikido
Review: I live in Japan, have studied the language for several years and am asked often by visitors what books I'd recommend to them to get acquainted with the country. Angry White Pyjamas is one of the top recommendations I'll make from now on. It is fun, and in a usually unbiased way portrays Japanese society as it is: bizarre and surprising to the westerner. The author gets most of his rather low-key comments on the observed right, too. One of the big screw-ups are his comments on Japanese food to which he attributes no value. The food he experienced was probably influenced by two factors: his low income (never good in the world's most expensive country) and life in the dojo which apparently didn't avail him to anything better than the worst there is. The description of the Yoshinkan course is satisfying for someone with an interest in martial arts but no deep expertise in it. It is more about life in that particular dojo, rather than about Aikido itself, e.g. the technical aspects of it.
Rating:
Summary: Keep in mind he's a poet
Review: I picked this book up in a library when I was mentally preparing for a trip to Japan. Starting with the subtitle "A Scrawny Oxford Poet Takes Lessons from the Tokyo Riot Police", I was hooked. There are plenty of martial arts books where the writer tries to show off what a great warrior he is, and plenty of instructional books. This is not one of them. It is a book about a poet who decides he needs to become a warrior to be a real man, and then actually goes out and does it. It's also an incredibly funny book about being a foreigner in Japan, and the every day struggles that go along with that. When I got to Japan, I found that the book had prepared me quite well for the kind of mental space to expect, and even the feelings that I was having as a foreigner. Aside from its utilitarian value, this is an incredibly enjoyable book which kept me up far past my bedtime. The quotes from the Hagakure which begin some of the chapters are quite a treat, too.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining - Inspirational
Review: I really enjoyed Mr. Twigger's book. It is a throw back to one of my personal favorite martial arts books, "Moving Zen" (C.W.Nicol). His story of his training in one of the most brutal of martial arts programs available in Japan gave an interesting insight to the way martial arts is thought of and taught to foreigners in Japan. The prejudices and attitudes of the Japanese towards foreigners and the attitudes of the westerners towards the Japanese was very interesting. The book is a very entertaining read - complete with pleanty of opportunities to laugh. Take a few hours and read it.
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