Customer Reviews

Bruce Tegner's Complete Book of Jujitsu

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Yeah, yeah... I know. It's sort of like claiming to be the best winemaker in Idaho. Still, just about everyone who reads martial arts books has read Tegner, and this is one of his best. It's probably significant that he doesn't appear in the book. The book is, however, rather inexpensive, and does show jujutsu techniques which will work okay (if you can manage to apply them). Tegner was making a fair case for the utility of jujutsu way back when it wasn't fashionable. After all, back then, jujutsu was "old hat" and was often thought of as just another name for judo. So all in all, this book is alright for beginners who want to decide which martial art to pursue. It will give them a slight taste of what stand-up jujutsu looks like. If they wish to delve any deeper, they must look elsewhere.

This book features many, many techniques, but it is not intended for the beginner. You won't find much instruction, mostly composed of one series of photo's depicting one technique after another. For the experienced Judoka/Ju-Jitsuka, this book deserves a 4-star rating; for beginners, or those interested in learning more about the art of Ju-Jitsu, this book ranks a 1-star rating. This is NOT a how-to book, nor does it contain discussions of ethics, legal consequences of your actions, nor does it discuss the history of the art much. If you have a few years of Judo/Ju-Jitsu training behind you, this book will be VERY useful in expanding your repertoire. With 10 years experience in Judo and Ju-Jitsu, I find Tegner's books helpful, but sometimes difficult because of his editorial comments. Most of his books are better suited to experienced martial artists, so choose carefully.

I bought this book in 1977, it is still valid today. It is a very good book for beginners. Many of the new books just show the same techniques as are shown here.All techniques have a series of photos, so they are easy to follow. And the all work. i have taught and used them.

I recommend this book for anyone who just wants to find out how to perform a specific technique, and doesn't want to read a long example, or anyone who just wants to brush up on his or her Jiu-Jitsu. I find that I can lookup what I need in just a mater of seconds, without having to read a long example that is not related to the, specific grip, hold, technique etc. that I want to learn.
I'd recommend this book for teaching purposes, as well as learning on your own.

This book is great for learning the techniques of jujitsu. Although I was disapointed with the lack of philosaphy and history of the art.

this is a good book, i don't know much about jujitsu but i bought this book because i wanted to learn more. Tegner has presented a lot of techniques in this book, but that is all they are, there is no order or structure presented in the book and at times it seems more detail and better pictures are needed to get the point across. i would recommend this book if you are a martial artist and want to expand your technique repretoire or if you just want to know more about jujitsu than this is a good book, full of techniques and a very reasonable price.

I like Tegner. Unlike the comments of a previous reviewer i find Tegner is grounded in reality. He gives you the facts about movies/TV and how what is shown is vastly different than real life. He explains how to do things in a practical way, and how a lifetime of study is not required. Tegner was a pioneer, long before Bruce Lee asked people to question tradition, Tegner was already giving the answers. The introduction in his book "Complete Book of Self-Defense" is pure gold. It contains solid information that puts self-defense into it's proper perspective.

I just bought this book and have had an opportunity to put it through its paces. I've found the text to be very readable and instructive. Unlike many martial arts "Manuals" this one doesn't try to shroud the techniques in mystery, or pretend that you can become a black belt just by reading the book. Instead, it presents the material in an easy to read format that accurately describes the action in the photographs. A word of caution though, it reads a bit like a text book and the smallish black and white photos sometimes make it hard to see exactly what's going on. Overall, it is an excellent introduction to the art of ju jitsu for those who would like to either explore the martial arts, or experienced stylists who wish to expand their knowledge.

I am a martial artist of over 23 years and I would like to say that this book is ok for beginners. I would also like to say that it has some of the same techniques I found in Professor Larry Hilton's book of Nippon Ketsugo Ryu.

THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO JUJITSU. IT TEACHES MANY HOLDS, LOCKS, THROWS AND MANUEVERS OF JAPANESE JUJITSU AND MOST OF THEM ARE PRACTICAL FOR SELF DEFENSE SITUATIONS. ALSO, I COULD DEFINE THIS BOOK AS AN EXCELLENT ENCYLOPEDIA AND REFERENCE GUIDE FOR JUJITSU TECHNIQUES IF SOMEONE NEEDS TO LOOK UP A PARTICULAR MOVE TO SEE HOW IT SHOULD BE EXECUTED PROPERLY. BRUCE TEGNER DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF WRITING AND PUTTING THIS BOOK TOGETHER AND I WISH HIS BOOKS WERE STILL AVAILABLE IN MANY PLACES, BUT SADLY NOW HIS BOOKS ARE BECOMING HARD TO FIND. I THINK MOST IF NOT ALL OF HIS BOOK ARE OUT OF PRINT NOW AND I HOPE SOON THAT SOMEBODY OR SOME PUBLISHING COMPANY WILL PUT HIS BOOKS BACK IN PRINT AS IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF THIS LEGENDARY MARTIAL ARTS TEACHER`S WORK IS SOON FORGOTTEN. BRUCE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST GUYS TO INTRODUCE AND TEACH JUJITSU AND JUDO HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AND I HOPE HIS BOOKS WILL BE AROUND FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN FROM AND BENEFIT FOR YEARS TO COME. I BELIEVE THIS BOOK MAKES AN EXCELLENT COMPANION BOOK TO GEORGE KIRBY`S JUJITSU BOOKS AND A GOOD JUDO BOOK LIKE "BEST JUDO" AND "THE CANON OF JUDO" BOOK.