Customer Reviews

Iron Body Ninja

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Ashida Kim came to South Africa in about 1988/1989 and I briefly met him. At that stage I was learning ninjutsu under Brin Morgan. Brin Morgan is a personal student of Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi and is one of the most highly qualified ninjutsu practitioners in the Western World.

To cut a long story short, Ashida Kim's real name is Radfid Davies (not sure of the spelling) and he is not an authority on ninjutsu. The ninjutsu fraternity is very aware of his shortcomings but leave him to his own devices in the knowledge that the true seekers on ninjutsu will unravel the truth.

Stephen Hayes is one of the few legitimate authors of ninjutsu. He speaks Japanese fluently, is married to a Japanese woman and is a personal student and friend of Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi. Books written by Stephen Hayes are based on information gained from Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi who is the present grandmaster of ninjutsu and therefore the undisputed authority on ninjutsu. Hopefully this snippet of truth shall set you free.

May the force be with you in your quest to seek out the truth.

This book is not going to teach fighting techniques. This book is for the martial artist who is skilled physically but wants to develop a more spiritual aspect to their study. It will provide you with various meditation exercises that are extremely helpful in focusing energy, relaxing, and developing a healthy, age lengthening study of the martial arts. I think this book is an excellent source for serious martial artist and even for those who are simply looking for direction in their practice of meditation.

The only reason this book gets a 1 star is because negative stars don't exist! This book is a sham, "Ashida Kim"'s real name is Christopher Hunter, he changed it to sound more Asian. He has not trained in Ninjutsu a day in his life, but writes fiction as fact in books about the "iron body", "the death touch", and "turning invisible". If you're interesting in learnign about real Ninjutsu, study the Bujinkan dojo and read a book by Soke, Masaaki Hatsumi.

At first when I read this book I was suprised at depth and number of excercises it had in it, which all seemed valid regardless of whether Ashida Kim is truly Oriental or not. After reading some reviews of this book I began to doubt its credibility, but most of the people raging at Kim didn't seem to have much reason behind their words, and just called him things like a "bath-robe wearing pansy". Since I had purchased some other Kim titles which also seemed credible, I went to [the website] on the internet, and am starting to also doubt the truth behind his words. In his books he preaches a peaceful way of life, but then his site features a "[bad] list" of all the people he would like to sue, maim, etc. When I went to his sight I figured I would find information to back up my belief in him, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Visit the site and see for yourself. Just because I don't agree with him doesn't mean his exercises are bad though, but practice at your discretion. Another thing I don't understand is all these other Ninjitsu trainee reviewers with all this supposed experience behind them. You rave at Kim for encouraging violencein a peaceful art and say how you can beat him up. What happened to controlling your agression? Seriously people, you may have mastered the technique, but the roots of ANY martial arts form run much deeper than just the punches and kicks.

Just try Mr Kim's techniques in real life situations and you will end up in the grave.

Stay away from the books of this "Grandliar". He is not a "Grandmaster" as he claims to be.

Alright, to start off with, I'd like to point out that both the "ninjutsu" and the man Ashida Kim are not what they claim to be. Ashida Kim is neither Asian, nor is he a Ninja. The name he uses is used merely to convince ignorant readers that he might know what he is talking about because its an Asian name. However, he couldn't even get the countries right. Ashida is Japanese, however Kim is Korean. Now, enough of the man, but how bout the "ninjutsu"? The book is a fighting style he developed, and not ninjutsu. This is evident in just the manner in which he moves. Perhaps it is still something you are interested in... if so go for it. If you're looking for true ninjutsu however, look for something else.

Although a lot of information in a short book, I found it to be vastly oversimplified, it contained no references, and (while an admirable attempt to harmonize the 5 elements / 5 phases into one cohesive system) it does not correlate at all with any number of references on traditional chinese medicine. Perhaps if one had never heard of TCM, chi-kung, or the TV series 'the highlander' (he Quotes Queen's theme song!)??...

The techniques which the author describes most definately have nothing to do with authentic ninja arts (ninpo). They are a blend between yoga and some of the more superstitious and outdated Chinese Chi-Gong (power building) exercises. The sole improvement I can see over this author's earlier books is the fact that there has been no outright "borrowing" of materials from authentic and established ninjutsu intructors' published writings. As there is no bibliography provided, I don't know where the other fanciful theories presented in this volume originated.

There are some terrific books on ninjustu out there (anything by Masaaki Hatsumi), and also some wonderful books on Iron Palm and Iron Body training in the Chinese martial arts (Brian Gray's two books come to mind). I don't like being overly negative, but this book made me feel cheated and I must admit, somewhat embarrassed. I can't begin to guess at the reasons this author has for bestowing upon his novels such misleading and nonsensical titles.

This is a very good book about the more spiritual side of ninjitsu. it has detailed information on meditation and postures to increase awareness and health. This like many other Ashida Kim books contains helpful information on the subject.

Ninjitsu? I thought it was ninjUtsu. Iaijitsu? I thought it was iaijUtsu. Tsubo? I thought it was Tsuba. Sayo? I thought it was Saya. Wow, he sure does spell a lot of these wrong.