Customer Reviews

The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this book. As a guy who has been training in the martial arts since 1965 and who has written extensively on it for many years, I have often been critical of some of the ancient exercises as being unsound and dangerous. When I picked up The Art of Hojo Undo, I expected to see some of these. Not so. All of the exercises within the book are sound and highly beneficial for building power and strength overall, and power, strength, and speed in specific martial arts movements.

It's unlikely that you will build a Muscle Beach type of physique with these exercises, that is, one that's big on pretty but light on functional. The exercises discussed in this book will develop size, strength and power, but of the type that translates to your martial arts movements in ways that you never thought possible.

There's a new movement among exercise enthusiasts today that's not about wearing cute gym attire and chatting with friends around shiny exercise equipment in a brand named fitness facility. This "new" approach involves returning to the old ways of getting strong: flipping over giant truck tires, executing pull-ups on a 4x4 ceiling beam, and pressing large stones overhead. It's a 'what's-old-is-new-again" thing and, judging by the incredible results that its proponents are getting, it works wonderfully.

Much of the material in The Art of Hojo Undo is old school, which is not a bad thing. The exercises and routines - many of which go back several decades, some over a hundred years ago - are still being used today for one simple reason: they work, and they work well.

So if you're looking for a break from concentration curls and dumbbell flies - exercises that won't do a heck of a lot for your martial arts - do yourself a favor and get this book. Three months from now you will be amazed at your new speed, power and strength.

Loren W. Christensen

As I continue along my life-long journey through this unique realm of martial arts research and science, the one constant I repetitively bump into is that what the ancient martial masters intuitively knew from practical experience about developing paradigms of training for the comprehensive development of warriors' minds, bodies, and spirits, contemporary scientific methods and critical thinking are confirming over and over again.

Mr. Clarke's, The Art of Hojo Undo (the art of supplemental training) reflects this truth throughout this well written, 201 page manual, detailing body strengthening exercises, not only in their appropriate historical context, but in a way that makes sense to an exercise physiologist, as well as the typical martial artist trainee.

There are numerous plates, black and white photographs and line-drawings throughout the book, which intensify the instructional richness of this manual.

The book is organized in an Introduction, elaborating on the ancient or historical methods of training that existed in Okinawa. Here we find that not only did the people of this Ryukyu Retto possess their own unique indigenous training methods, they also borrowed heavily from the Chinese.

Following the stage-setting introduction, we have the second chapter explicating preparation exercises known as junbi undo, designed to warm and loosen up the body for more intense exercises. These are free-standing movements where the practitioner uses no special equipment, merely the actions of one's own body.

The third chapter finds detailed prints and descriptions of various lifting tools that the Okinawan practitioners used to strength the movements of the body. Not only will we find the directions on how to execute the exercises with this equipment properly and safely, there are photographs supporting the directions. In addition to the instructional directives within the book, one finds detail descriptions on how to manufacture these tools with modern materials to reach a reasonably accurate facsimile of the historical designs. This is true of all the tools shown and described throughout the text and not just in chapter three.

Some of the lifting tools covered, with the appropriate exercises and manufacturing guidelines include: the makiagi, the chiishi, the double-handle chiishi, the nigiri gami, the tan, the ishi sashi and tetsu sashi, the kongoken, and the tetsu and ishi geta.

Being a former strength and conditioning coach, I found both the tools and methods of using the tools sound applications of modern day conditioning principles and concepts. Manufacturing these tools within the home setting would be easy enough from the directions provided in this manual, making for an opportunity to improved variety within one's personal training protocol.

The fourth chapter goes into detail about the various ways and means the Okinawan practitioners of yore used impact tools to tough and strength the movements of striking with the body's natural weapons. The devise that is uniquely Okinawan is present--the makiwara--along with old historical photographs of the Okinawan masters using the various impact tools discussed. Other tools are shown and the one in particular that I liked was a devise that is reminiscent of a European medieval Pell.

Again, the directions for making the variety of striking tools are clear and concise for the reader to follow.

The fifth chapter addresses ideas for conditioning the body through partner work designed to both strengthen and improve sensitivity to oppositional movement forthcoming from the partner.

The sixth chapter pertains to various auxiliary applications consisting of individual calisthenics and partnered exercises with the goal for strengthening different portions of an individual's body.

The seventh chapter finds the reader discovering a unique collection of contemporary and older tools used to condition and strength movements of the human structure. There is the tetsuwa or iron ring, the ishibukuro or stone sack, heavy bag and smaller-heavy bag devises, with others shown being typically modern in construction.

The final chapter owns the comments from Okinawan masters' discussion of hojo undo or supplemental training to martial arts practice, all believing such training is both needed and beneficial for one's complete development as a martial artist, regardless of the discipline.

The book is a well-constructed and balanced text of historical perspective, academic study and practical application of just what is hojo undo, how to safely engage in such training, how to construct the tools from modern materials, and what the benefits may be from the proper use of this supplemental training paradigm.

It is this reviewer's conclusion that the plethora of older, historical exercise methods from the Ryukyu Islands as documented within this training manual, if utilized with the appropriate principles of conditioning--progressive overload, attention to intensity and movement specificity--will be an added bonus to any martial practitioner striving to better his or her kinesthetic awareness and strengths for whatever their particular martial endeavor may be. Plus, it simply looks fun to make and use the tools shown in this book--something that I believe helps us to solidly connect with the overall traditional spirit of martial practice.

Rev. Arthur Bodhi Chenevey, RM, DD
Hikaze Learning Corner
Wooster Ohio

When I glanced through this tome my first thought was that any book with forewords by three 8th dan black belts and one 10th dan black belt has got to be good. After perusing the materials I quickly discovered that it wasn't just good, it was great!

While a few books (including a couple of my own) touch on the subject of hojo undo (supplementary training), I found The Art of Hojo Undo uniquely comprehensive and utterly fascinating. The only thing that even comes close was a book by famous karateka Morio Higaonna, which has been out of print for decades. Topics include lifting tools such as makiage (wrist roller), chiishi (stone weights), nigiri gami (gripping jars), and ishisashi (stone padlock), impact tools such as makiwara (striking post), tou (bamboo bundle), jari bako (sand box), and kakite bikei (blocking post), body conditioning exercises, partner drills, and auxiliary exercises, along with some interesting comments on hojo undo by a couple of Okinawan karate masters.

The author has a very engaging writing style. A practitioner since 1973, he has tons of practical knowledge and experience to share with his readers. Packed with rare and unique photographs, clear illustrations, and articulate instructions this book is a wonderful resource for classical martial artists. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Lawrence Kane
Author of Blinded by the Night, among other titles

This book bills itself primarily as a manual to teach the karate practitioner how to build and use various pieces of classical supplemental training equipment. On this level, it is certainly a success. Nicely rendered and easily understandable diagrams provide clear instruction on how to build tools from the familiar makiwara to the uncommon kakite bikei. In fact, alternate diagrams are provided for most of the items, giving the reader various options to choose from depending on his/her preferences and the availability of building materials. Moreover, the discussion of each piece of equipment includes several different drills and exercises that can be done with it. This information is extremely useful for practitioners who would like to add hojo undo to their training routine but are uncertain of how to do so in a safe manner. Hence, judging the book on this aspect alone, it is certainly worth owning.

However, what makes this book truly great is that it goes well beyond the advertised. For example, it contains entire chapters on preparatory exercises, body conditioning exercises that can be done with a partner, and auxiliary exercises that can be done without tools. Even more interesting, though, is the historical context that the author provides for this equipment. Each chapter opens with a quick discussion of the given tool, including aspects of its history, and is then enlivened by numerous photos of hojo undo in action - karateka past and present utilizing the given tool. Moreover, pictures from museums, dojo, and ancient training manuals demonstrate just how important this type of training was to past martial artists. This historical background allows the author to explore the decline in hojo undo over time as the Okinawan's training emphasis on preparation (junbi undo), strength (hojo undo), strategy (kata), and application (bunkai) has been supplanted by the Japanese focus on kihon, kata, and kumite. Such a discussion comes at an important time, as there is currently a resurgence in interest in the self-defense aspects of karate, a resurgence that is limited without an understanding of the full array of training methods that the masters of old used to achieve their martial prowess. It is hard to imagine anyone arguing against karate's usefulness in practical self defense if he/she were exposed to a master proficiently training with the tools featured in this book. As a result, not only does this volume provide a perfect opportunity for the rediscovery of hojo undo, but it also presents the case for why such a discovery is vital to the integrity of karate as a fighting system.

Finally, the book succeeds by using the hard training associated with hojo undo to explore some of the philosophical aspects of the martial arts. As the author notes, rigorous training of this sort works to strip away the ephemeral and illusory aspects of one's character, leaving only the true self behind. Hence, the greatest benefit of the martial arts lies not in fighting prowess developed but in knowledge of self gained. Such knowledge is a benefit to the martial artist well beyond the ring or the street.

As is surely clear from my review, this book gets my highest recommendation. Buy it. You won't regret it.

This book truly sparked my interest in training methods for power beyond the standard western way of thinking. Isolation on groups designed for the power one would use in Karate, it will only make you better. This book is full of Goodies for anyone who wants to build there own equipment out of little. it will spark your imagination and wont break your budget by any means, with what works, and worked for the best. This knowledge of power has lasted through the sands of time, and accost the world to make it into this book to your home, enjoy.

Damian

Awesome book. Offers a lot of details on how to build these tools from the past and how to train them. Essential for any karate student.

A friend of mine who is by the way a Goju Ryu Karateka recommended me to get the Art of Hojo Undo not only for power training but also to understand where Karate training all began and to appreciate the roots(To understand the new way, you got to go back and learn the Old way)....When I found this book at a local library store, I was loving it every moment of it that my Goju Ryu buddy and I practice several techniques at least 3x's a week. I prefer to do these techniques better then weights that you find at the gym.

Upon it's introduction to mainland Japan, the art of Karate lost a significant element of it's rigorous conditioning in favor of a more ritualized and sports-oriented format, referred to in the book as "sportification." Ironically, while this helped popularize the art among the mainstream public by removing the strenuous, time consuming, and often times hazardous regimen, it also diminished considerably a vast portion of the art's effectiveness. In this book, author Michael Clarke brings back to mainstream public awareness the long neglected elements of Okinawan Karate.

From the get-go, it is clear that a lot of research went into the writing. A number of established figures from various Okinawan Karate organizations lend their credence to this book in preface and interviews. The reader will get a brief section of history and better understanding of Karate's geographic background, as well as a glimpse into the mindsets of Karateka of the past and present, in addition to the various training methodologies of the art before it came to Japan.

The book is divided into several sections. Following the history portion, the author lists junbi undo, or various warm-ups and stretches handed down by Chojin Miyagi to his students. Next are the lifting tools and impact tools, followed by directions on how to manufacture them using simple and widely available materials, and exercises which implement them. The next section deals with 2 person conditioning drills, and auxiliary exercise. The final section features interviews with the current high ranking Okinawan Karate masters, giving further insight into the emphasis placed on hojo undo training.

Overall, this book gives the reader a lot of material to work with, providing a means to effective exercises, drills, and conditioning, which will undoubtedly result in vast improvement of one's skill. In my opinion, the material goes a long way in supplementing modern Karate training methodologies to form a far more effective training regimen.

Michael Clarke is clearly one of the most dedicated and passionate western martial artists on the planet. As the fantastic photographs in his book show, he has followed his art all over the world, including time on Okinawa which I'm extremely envious of by the way; and he has trained with some of the most experienced and revered Japanese, Okinawan and western instructors alive (some now sadly deceased) today. It also becomes evident throughout the book that Mr Clarke has far more knowledge of Hojo Undo than some of our leading Japanese Karate Sensei, particularly those of the Shuri te styles, Kanazawa in point of fact.

Is it that, as times have moved on and training has progressed and become far more scientific, the need for such tough, painful and potentially damaging training has been deemed outdated and uneccessary? After all, we as karateka are not expected to defend ourselves or our King from armed Samurai, as were the great masters of old. Or is it that, since Karate's migration to Japan, it's dissemination throughout the world and the growth of the sporting aspect of the art, the aesthetic importance of Karate has now completely saturated and dissolved the true nature and needs of the art? The sweet sugar being lost by the bitterness of the coffee, so to speak.

The answer to both the former and the latter is YES in varying degrees. Lets leave the sport karate question out of equation, as its my opinion that it has no semblance of the traditional art attached to it anymore, and lets concentrate on the need for Kojo Undo conditioning.

Let's face it, the need for traditional Hojo Undo training probably isn't necessary today as there are many modern and some would argue, better training methods and equipment at our disposal these days. But as a karateka reading this book, looking at the amazing photographs of great men like Funakoshi, Chojin Miyagi and Chotoku Kyan using or surrounded by their crudely constructed equipment; seeing their steely looks of determination and invincibility in their eyes, I became acutely aware that these exercises were far more than a hard physical means of honing a rock hard body and fearsome striking power. The art of Hojo Undo also toughens the resolve, focuses the mind and sharpens the real essence of karate - the ZANSHIN.

OK, it's not rocket science and there are no revolutionary ideas in this book but that's not the point. It gives a real insight into a particular aspect of the history of karate and what's more, if you fancy giving it a go, there are simple to follow instructions on how to construct all the varrious types of equipment both lifting and striking. So guess what I'll be doing for the next few months.

Hojo Undo is not for those looking for a great read and I actually skipped chunks of it. However it's content transports you back to a time and a place that all karateka should hold dear to there hearts, the photos alone were truly inspiring. Oh! Be sure to read the endnotes.

This is an amazing work of literature, the secrets of the old Karate masters is embedded in this book. You will learn to build your strength, condition yourself, and learn techniques to build power. This book will also teach you how to build training equipment to achieve all this. This is an absolute must buy! Thanks YMAA for releasing this book.