Customer Reviews

The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship: A Manual of Eishin-Ryu Iaido (Martial Arts)

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

 

 

"The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship" is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning the way of the sword. This book is a manual based on how to use the Katana blade containing the traditional techniques for beginners, intermediate and advanced practictioners. This manual of Eishin-Ryu Iaido also covers information such as the history of the style, about the Japanese sword, and what the style of Iaido is all about. I recommend this book to ANYONE who is interested in Japanese swordsmanship.

The book is a good introduction to the art of Iaido, but the diagrams are difficult to follow and the hand motions could be better explained. Iaido is difficult to follow without a sensei - I could understand some of this stuff because I've had lessons...but for a new beginner without guidance, I wouldn't recommend this book.

A wonderfully, clearly written and superbly illustrated manual for iaido. No book can perform as a substitute for actual training, but this manual is an excellent supplement. It has a good bit of history and clear explanations, making it useful for any martial artist, but the real focus (and where it really shines) is to the iaidoist, who will find this book indispensable.

If you are new to iaido and need a reference guide for when you are away from the dojo, this book is very useful. It explains each kata step by step with meticulous detail, and goes over the basics such as how to grip the sword, how to put on the clothing, and so forth.

As long as you have an understanding of each kata, going back to practice with the guidance of this book will be straightforward. However, the pictures are almost worthless. They are only good for giving you an overview of how the kata proceeds. It's impossible to tell how the feet are positioned, what the hands are doing, and even which way the sword is supposed to be facing when in the saya. Photographs would have been far better.

I study Ryuseiken Batto-do and I wanted to study some iaido so I purchased this book. This was the worst book that I have ever seen. The diagrams are awful because you can not see which leg or which arm is which. I am very disappointed and I will never recomend this book. The only good that has come out of this is that now I know I need to read the reviews before I buy book. Then at least I can't be mad at anyone but myself for buying a book

While it should go without saying that no martial art can be learned solely from a book and that the intricacies need to be experienced with a real live teacher in real time, I think that this book can definitely benefit students of Eishin Ryu Iaido. Whether you are a beginner, trying to remember the waza (techniques), or an old hand, looking to brush up on the basics that can get lost over time, Suino's book is a good reference text.

I have to say that I was surprised. So many martial arts texts either have amateurish pictures (such as Yang Jwing-Ming's texts, which are otherwise so useful) or pictures that simply don't include enough details. This book has basic but clear graphics that, along with real-life/real-time instruction, make a lot of sense. Even Suino's description of how to put on the gi and hakama are better than most I've seen. (If he included how to fold the hakama, it would be even better! Luckily, you can get that online ([...]).)

Compared to a book like Flashing Steel, Suino helps the beginner in particular by focusing on the pragmatic topics: he lists and explains the introductory Batto Ho no Bu (Drawing Methods Set) techniques, the intermediatesd Tatehiza no Bu (Half-Seated Set), and the advanced Tachiwaza no Bu (Secret Forms, Standing Set). While the glossary could be longer, you can filter through the text to find other words/phrases that he uses and explains and pencil them into the glossary on your own.

The other thing that really excites me about this book is that he always includes the kanji (Japanese characters) for the names of the techniques. As an intermediate speaker of Japanese, that helped me a lot when I was trying to figure out what the names really meant.

I normally never refer to books when it comes to the art of eishin-ryu, but this book did help correct my somewhat correct stances. Some of the moves, at first, are hard to follow. The thing is though that the book has a chapter specifically on how to use this book, so you shouldn't be too confused for very long. At first, i was sceptic, but since my girlfriend bought it for me, i gave it a try, and i can honestly that's it done nothing but make me want to train even more. It even teaches you hoe to wipe blood off the blood the proper way. It was like Suino wrote this manual as if you were really engaged in brutal, bloody sword combat. For any of those who would like to learn eishin-ryu, definitely check out this manual, it'll do you some good.

This is a great book for people interested in Japanese Swordsmanship. Mr. Suino has provided a basic review of iaido history and etiquette, but the real strength of this book is the complete technical section, that shows all the one-person kata from Eishin-Ryu Iaido. I have two copies!

This book offers a wonderful introduction to the martial artist who has been exposed to limited swordplay in a jujitsu or karate class and wants a way to continue his or her learning seperatly. Unfortunately it offers no kata or even original thoughts on basic kenjutsu or iai. Good illustrations and explanations of the moves and forms entailed, but overall not worth the price to the more experienced swordsman.

As others have said, the diagrams are nearly impossible to follow. It was a good idea to include them, but it's impossible to tell which foot is where. I ended up going through each of the steps and wrote "R" or "L" on the diagrams to give me a better idea of what should be where. Another issue with the diagrams is that sometimes they don't match up with the corresponding paragraph describing what the diagram is showing. Quite simple, the text will be saying one thing, and the diagram will be showing something completely different. It is almost as if the diagrams were made first, then the descriptions, then the descriptions were edited to include or drop extra steps, which is fine, but the diagrams were never changed to reflect these changes. While it can be frustrating at times, on the flip side it does encourage you to pay closer attention. Just remember to go by the text and not the diagrams.

Despite these problems, it's a good starting point. I have no teachers of this style anywhere near where I live currently, so I wanted to get at least the barest minimum instruction in advance of moving to a place where there is a reputable teacher.