Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1329533 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 283 pages

Customer Reviews

A pocket Hatsumi in your own home...
This is not so much a conventional book but more a collection of thoughts, quotes and ideas put forward by Hatsumi over the more recent years. This book is a must have, as Hatsumi feels that only now he understands what Takamatsu taught him.

It is part practical information on taijutsu and a large part philosophy. You will take from this book that what is right for you. If you are at all interested in matters beyond pure technique then this will amount to far more words than are actually in the book! Ideas that are put forward are optimistic, universal and reflect the true nature of people.

It also reminds me of what a funny guy he is, even though he has all these terribly earnest people coming to see him from all round the world who hang on his every breathe (me included). You have to have a sense of humour, its what makes us human and indeed its what makes good Budo. Hatsumi has never fogotten to laugh or play.

For anyone who has trained in Japan at the Hombu dojo this book will have great resonance. I can best explain it by saying that it's like the faint echo's of Hatsumi's words are suddenly made clear and sharp again. Words where you missed there significance at the time become re-evaluated as Hatsumi speaks to you again from the pages of this book. This is why I say its like a pocket Hatsumi. Strange concept yes, but oh so true...

Not for casual readers
As the above review says, this isn't a conventional book, but a collection of quotes from Masaaki Hatsumi, Grandmaster of Bujinkan Taijutsu. If you are a casual reader it will be hard to place many of these quote in context, or even understand the terms that are used.

However, if you study the martial arts this book is a wonderful companion. It's hard to describe why I enjoy this book, but I have found it to be an invaluble reference tool in training. If you don't train in a Japanese art some of the japanese phrase may throw you, but most of the book should still be understandable.

I highly recommend any martial artist to pick this book up and enjoy it. The wisdom contained on these pages will keep you content for many years.

Instructional on a deeper level
This is not the sort of book that you sit down and read straight through. It's not a training manual, not a "how to" ready-made recipe book for ninja enthusiasts. In fact, if you haven't seen Hatsumi or his better students train, then much of this may be plainly unintelligible. In this way it is reminiscent of the densho of old- they only make real sense to the initiated (something I suspect is at play in nearly all of his books, especially the ones with lots of photos and diagrams). Rather, it is a collection of related (and unrelated) snippets into the teaching and training philosophy of Hatsumi.

Topics include themes on fighting multiple attackers, use of blades, foot work, throws, training diligence, the transmission of the essence of the art and much more. There are also nice caveats in the text devoted to the perspectives of his top students.

While I mentioned that the point of the book is not instructional in the "step here and pull here" sense, it certainly would be a welcome addition to most martial artists' reading lists and is instructional on a deeper level, if you have the ability to see and understand.

And this brings up the point of yugen, that mysterious realm of life that isn't quite understood, but rather experienced. Much of this book reminds me of the intuitive approach we must have in our training. I find myself reading parts over now and again and each time I draw something else out. Like an icon or a great novel, it speaks freshly every time. Understand? Good. Play!

Gambatte!