Customer Reviews

The Heart of Kendo: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Philosophy and Practice of the Art of the Sword

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While there are other books going in to more detail of shinai kendo (e.g. "Kendo : The Definitive Guide" by Hiroshi Ozawa), this book offers a deeper view of the philosophical aspects of kendo. Almost the entire second half of this book is dedicated to kendo kata. The illustrations and diagrams are clear, and the accompanying text describes the more delicate details, making it a great reference for this part of kendo.

As a person who has practiced Kendo and Iaido for almost twenty years, I judge The Heart of Kendo to be one of the best martial arts books ever written. One of the serious challenges any author in the martial arts field faces, is the need to convey concepts and ideas in a manner that provides guidance for the beginner and the experienced practioner. Craig Sensei meets that challenge. The Heart of Kendo is the type of martial arts book that will appeal to persons who are seriously studying a traditional Budo and to those who are just beginning their journey on this path.

As one of Craig Sensei's students, I can vouch for the amount of work and many hours that were spent by Craig Sensei writing and rewriting the book's text. The section of the book containing some of Craig Sensei's many conversations with Chiba Harutane Sensei is absolutely priceless and conveys a sense of the connection between our modern society and Kendo as it was taught to Chiba Sensei by his father in an almost feudal atmosphere.

I sincerely recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn and understand more about the practice, and daily application in the real world, of a traditional Japanese martial art.

The thing to remember is that even though an author may be described as an expert with a kzillion honors, it does not necessarily mean they are any good at teaching (or writing). It's the same as having brilliant professors in college who can't teach. These are smart people but since they are already highly fluent in the material, they forget how to present the information to complete novices. This book is a perfect example of this.

The philosophical introductions and the interviews are excellent and worth reading.

But the organization of materials could have been better.
For example, the bogu (armor) is introduced before any of the basics like etiquette or basic foot work are explained. Most beginners will not see a bogu for 8 months. What a typical beginner needs is buried late in the book in the section on technical kata.

Drawings are ok but lack detail. In some cases a photo would have been more useful. Eg a photo of the shinai parts would have been better than the line drawings which don't communicate anything useful. The diagrams are labeled with numbers rather than names so you have to hunt thru the text to find their names. Why not just put the labels next to the arrows? This isn't a model kit! Whoever did the design of the visuals does not know anything about visual communication.

Worst of all some of the diagrams are simply wrong!

This book is ok to fill in a few missing parts in ones Kendo instruction, but be careful of errors. The descriptions of the kata are in the form of sentences so you have to read several paragraphs over and over again to clarify what is in the diagram. It would have been more effective to have each step enumerated in a list and then correspond the enumerations with the pictures.

The coverage of waza is very small. There is a page on identifying openings but it is written rather confusingly.

Also there is no index in the book.

the first part of the book was well worth buying this book for. rest is about as good as any kendo books.

This interesting text about kendo is also available in hardback (or at least was, at one time). So be sure to read the reviews of the same material under the separate hardback listing.

The stories are inspiring, the text helpful. This is the most beautiful book I've ever seen devoted to a martial art.

I am a former (16 year) student of Craig Sensei in judo and taiho-jutsu. Craig Sensei, in my biased by humble opinion, is one of the true great Western master of traditional Japanese martial arts and ways, advanced holding rankings in kendo, judo, karate-do, jodo, aikido, jujutsu, and kobudo. Craig Sensei is of that disappearing breed of true, dedicated martial artists which were forged in the post WWII occupation of Japan. Craig Sensei, and other teachers with whom I have been fortunate to be acquainted with, who received their martial training in Japan at the beginning of the cold war, were unique men at a unique time. The conditions rarely exist to produce professional exponents of this caliber anymore.

I am not ranked in the art of Kendo but have seen it practiced at the Budokan and other dojo. For years, I have seen Craig Sensei give demonstrations in various arts, but his Kendo is unique among them. I believe his understanding of the spiritual, mental and physical requirements for expert Kendo are unparalleled, certainly compared to most Western teachers.

I have read Heart of Kendo. It is very well written and organized. His anecdotal experiences with Chiba Sensei are worth the price of the book alone. I have several other books on Kendo and can recommend, wholeheartedly, that this should be one on your shelf also. It is an excellent reference for both the beginning and intermediate student. Advanced exponents will find it useful as both a resource and a refresher or new approach to their own practice. The Heart of Kendo reflects the heart of a true master practitioner.

Authoritatively written by Darrell Max Craig (a Japanese sword and ritual expert with black belts in ten martial arts, and who has earned the title of Shihan or "master teacher" in Japan), The Heart Of Kendo: A Comprehensive Introduction To The Philosophy And Practice Of The Art Of The Sword is an informed and informative guide to the Japanese discipline of the sword, starting with the basics of the equipment and its care and then moving on to the spiritual virtues of respect and restraint; exercises, grips, stances, strikes, positioning; seven long-sword forms (kata) that form the foundation of kendo practice; and more. An excellent introduction and resource to the physical and spiritual depth of this challenging martial art, The Heart Of Kendo is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic Martial Arts reference collections.

I do not own this book. I browsed it in a bookstore and I found it rather less useful than Ozawa's 'Kendo the Definitive Guide' which is still the best book I've read on the subject.

It does contain some interesting anecdotes but not very much which would improve either one's spiritual understanding or physical skill.

If you do not own 'Kendo the Definitive Guide' click on the link and put that book in your shopping cart right now; if you already do and would like to read more about a fellow kenshi's experiences then the first half of this book may be a good read (the second half is just an exhaustive list of kata). All in all a little pricey for the material, though.

One of the best books I have ever read. Mixes many personal antecdotes with a lot of history. It's not a how to, as much as it is a why to. Very insightful about a mysterious part of Japanese culture.

Darrell Max Craig gives the reader a good idea of the philosophy, not just a few moves of Kendo. Worth a look.