Customer Reviews

Japanese for the Martial Arts

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...I have ever used, and I have gone through a lot of them, with a fair amount of disappointment. I readily admit this may be because of my own strong interest in the martial arts, and a dreadful lack of interest in the "Good morning Johnson-san, the weather is very nice today" type of conversations. (Yes, these type of phrases are useful in daily conversation, but how many times do you want to discuss the weather with the people around you?)

The booklet that comes with this set opens with the standard explanations of pronounciation, sentence structure, levels of address, verbs, etc. It is all done quite clearly, but given within the context of a student taking a class in Japanese martial arts. (I might add, the emphasis is on hand-to-hand fighting. There's no reference to kendo or Japanese fencing.) By the middle of the booklet and tape, however, the discussion has turned to phrases about kicks, strikes, stances, and technique. There is even a section on body parts and injuries. (One even learns how to say "It hurts" in Japanese---"Itai!") One cannot say the user will be fluent in Japanese by the end of this self-guided course, but for the martial arts-film fan, or anime enthusiast, this is a fun and eye-opening introduction to a difficult language.