Though aikido is known as a nonviolent, noncompetitive martial art, the use of weapons in aikido was introduced by the art's founder O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba.

The wooden weapons of aikido are most often used as training tools to better illustrate aikido principles and movements and to train in self-defense against weapons. This book features the three main weapons used in aikido: the boken or ken (wooden sword), jo (wooden short staff), and tanto (wooden knife). A complete discussion on each weapon is included with descriptions of the stances, grips, techniques, defenses, forms, and training appropriate for each weapon.

The aikido concepts, training and techniques represented are those influenced by the weapons practice of O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba, as well as the styles of Saito Sensei's Iwama-ryu.